Walk among the Beasts
by Blue Hurricane
Summary: An AU where the White Fang rules Vale and possibly beyond, forcing humans to become the ones oppressed like worthless animals. In a world ruled by fear and violence, Team RWBY must find a way to overthrow the White Fang and reclaim the good old days. But what can four girls do against the organization that brought the world to its knees? Bumblebee and White Rose pairings.
1. 01 - A Night of Shooting Stars

**Hi there. This story just sort of came up out of nowhere, and if it feels like I'm ripping off someone else's work, please let me know so I can edit or remove this one.**

**Warning: there might be character death. Off the top of my head, that's about all the warnings I have.**

**This story won't have any OCs, cos I already have one work with an OC and figured this would balance things out. It's also partially because a friend of mine requested I do a RWBY AU that revolved around only the canon characters, so yeah. Here's to you, old chap.**

* * *

It was a night of shooting stars, dancing across the peaceful night sky as they descended to the Earth.

She remembered the faint smiles of contentment as they huddled around the window with the lights switched off, admiring the exquisite phenomenon. She remembered not being able to control her outbursts whenever she saw a particularly bright streak of light. She also remembered the countless times her white-haired teammate told her to hush, called her childish, but still kept her light blue eyes glued to the window.

She remembered cuddling with someone, even though she could not remember who. She remembered her warmth as they rested against each other, their combined body heat driving back the cold. That was before the chills crawled up her spine.

She remembered the screams. The blood-curdling screams that resonated across the otherwise soundless campus, eventually silenced by the cacophony of violence. Of chaos. Of tragedy.

She remembered the blood. She remembered the vibrant color of death smeared across the school grounds as they ran. She remembered the gruesome images of mangled bodies, resting eternally in an overflowing river of crimson.

She remembered her own voice. She could hardly even tell it was her own voice she was hearing at first. She screamed, she begged, she hollered, and even when her throat started burning, she did not stop. Her eyes burned as well, casting two blazing trails down her cheeks as she cried.

She hazily remembered falling to her knees after what felt like an eternity of fighting. She recalled her sister's radiant golden hair as she carried her over her shoulder, running away or towards something she could not see. Even though she could not look up to see, she was sure of what happened.

On that night, where the tranquility was fiercely ripped to shreds, Ruby Rose saw the world collapse around her.

It was a night of falling stars, plummeting across the flame-lit sky as they crashed miserably to the ground.

* * *

Ruby heaved a sigh of relief as she shifted the boulder back into place, covering the passage they were in. While she waited, the former Huntress-in-training quickly removed the brown cloak she was wearing.

"Why so nervous, sis?" Yang asked cheerfully as the torch in her hand lit up, illuminating her beautiful face. You've avoided larger patrols before with no problem, right?"

"Today was a really close call!" Ruby replied, walking down the dark passageway carved through the rocks. "We were THAT close to being spotted!"

"So what?" Yang asked nonchalantly. "We could've just knocked them out without breaking a sweat."

"Of course that wouldn't work!" Ruby complained. "They'd still see us!"

"Uh… So?" Yang asked again, not getting the point.

"So it's a disaster if I'm seen!" Ruby raised her voice at having to explain something so obvious. "This cloak is _brown_, Yang! BROWN! It's an unprecedented fashion disaster! I'd die of embarrassment!"

Yang sighed, a wry smile playing on her lips.

"Look on the bright side," she offered. "At least it can't be worse than the baby pictures I showed to Blake and Weiss, right?"

Ruby turned pale. She still wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere even though that incident had been months ago.

"I mean," Yang said thoughtfully. "Between being seen in your brown cloak and me uploading every single picture I have onto the-"

"You _wouldn't_," Ruby gasped, aghast.

Yang did not reply, instead opting for giving her a playful wink before walking ahead. Ruby chased after her, desperately pleading with the saddest, biggest puppy dog eyes she could manage.

"Welcome back."

As they reached the end of the path, the sisters entered a large room surrounded by rocks and lit by smaller torches affixed to them. It was the shelter that they had spent many days meticulously carving out until it was sufficiently enough for the four of them.

Seated by a wooden stump with a bunch of papers in front of her was Blake, who had greeted them with a small smile as they entered. Pushing the papers aside, she walked up to them and relieved Yang of the bags she was carrying, but not before accepting Ruby's enthusiastic hug.

Yang could not help but smile at the sight of Blake smiling. When everything went to hell, Blake was the one who came back the most damaged emotionally. When she heard that the attack on Vale was by the White Fang, she charged into the heat of battle despite barely escaping with her team from Beacon. When she returned, and for the longest time Yang feared she would not at all, she was utterly broken.

Blake had refused to talk, eat or sleep for days on end, and only after much persuasion did she finally give in. She did not share much, but after she admitted she had killed a couple of White Fang members in the scuffle, Yang was already convinced that she did not want to make her say anymore. Ruby and Weiss, thankfully, shared those sentiments.

It was two months later that Blake finally loosened up. Even now, she was still distant, but she was finally starting to accept physical contact and interaction with others. Ruby was confident that she would return to being the 'good old Blake' before long, and Yang could only hope she was right.

"What were you arguing about?" Blake asked, setting down the bags by the side of the room where a makeshift stove was.

"Yang wanted to upload my baby pictures onto the net!" Ruby complained. She looked cross, but the impression it left on Blake was merely a comical one.

"Well, to be fair," Blake offered. "They _are_ pretty cute."

"Exactly!" Yang agreed energetically, as Ruby slumped her shoulders in defeat. Her cheeks were already flushed when the steam started pouring out from her ears. "Things that cute must be shared!"

A groan answered Yang's outburst, prompting Ruby to swiftly rush to the owner of that voice. Lying on one of the beds in the far end of the large space was Weiss Schnee, sitting up gingerly as she slowly opened her eyes. Ruby gently helped her get into a comfortable position, taking care not to hurt her left arm which was in a cast.

Weiss, for all her pride and attitude, had gone out of her way to fight for her friends back at Beacon. On the night they had to fight their way out of that Hell on Earth, the heiress had stood up for Blake even after learning of the White Fang being responsible. To protect her friend and teammate, the Ice Queen had fought against even her former peers when they tried to attack Blake, whose bow had been ripped off in combat, exposing her Faunus ears. Without a care for her broken arm, Weiss defended a stunned Blake, eventually holding out until Ruby and Yang came to their rescue.

However, she was unable to get proper treatment, and her arm was left to heal by itself. It was not helped by the fact that they were on the run, and Weiss's stubbornness which insisted that she help out with setting up their hideout. It ended up dragging out her recovery, and even though she said it herself that it was going to heal any day now, Ruby had doubts to Weiss's honesty about her condition. Regardless, she decided to trust her little Ice Princess.

"I'm sure the world would be thrilled to see that dolt hugging a bunny," Weiss said, her voice not as sarcastic as she had intended it to be. "And you forgot to take off the 'Collars', you two."

With a goofy grin, Yang reached for the metallic choker around her neck and detached its halves with a sharp clicking sound. Sticking her tongue out playfully, Ruby followed suit.

When the White Fang took over Vale, they changed the face of the world. Despite their lack of cat ears or monkey tails, the humans were now the ones treated like commonplace animals. With frightening military prowess, the White Fang brought the Kingdom to its knees, forcefully enforcing a 'Collar' upon every human under this new rule. The Collar did nothing except serve as an accessory at first, but when they passed on the 'Leash' to the Faunus, that changed swiftly.

The Leash was a simple remote control with a single button, and with a single press all Collars within a hundred meter radius would activate, producing a painful electric shock throughout the wearer's body. There were rumors of Leashes belonging to the higher-ups within the White Fang that could do even more than that, but no one spread them; the Faunus could not care less, and the humans were far too scared. The way to distinguish the humans and Faunus were now not from their physical differences, but from whether or not they wore a 'Collar' around their neck.

Granted, some Faunus did refuse this idea at first, and some even protested against the White Fang's actions. However, their pleas fell on deaf ears and those foolish enough to try were either silenced or, as they called it, 'had seen the errors of their ways'. The only known Faunus still alive for going against those ideals was a woman called Blake Belladonna, who was now a wanted criminal alongside her team, with a bounty on her head far greater than the other three's combined.

"I hate that thing," Yang muttered, tossing her Collar onto the floor. The ones they wore were not functional, but it did help to avoid some attention when they walked around in disguises; most Faunus just spare them a passing glance before moving on, like they do every other human. Some actually gave them a sympathetic look, since they assumed that the girls – like every other human who was able to roam the streets – had been released from the concentration camps.

"How're you feeling, Weiss?" Ruby asked, her voice wrecked with worry as the heiress stood up and walked over to the stump in the center of the room.

"I'm alright, Ruby," Weiss reassured her. "More importantly, Blake's found something interesting today."

"You left the cave?" Yang asked, staring at a very guilty-looking Blake. "What were you thinking, Blake?! It's far too dangerous for you!"

"Calm down, Yang," Weiss said. "I was with her."

"You left the cave?" Ruby asked, mirroring her sister. "What were you thinking, Wei- Oww!"

Rubbing her head where Weiss had mercilessly chopped with her right hand, Ruby sulked as Yang attempted to calm herself down with deep breaths.

"Okay," the blonde said at last. "We're a reckless bunch of idiots. It's not news. Okay. What've you got?"

"We think we found Team JNPR," Blake answered. "They should be at the concentration camp on the southwestern part of Vale; a few people who left that place told us they saw a group of people resembling the photos we had."

"That's great!" Ruby said excitedly. "Let's go bust them out!"

"Hold on, Ruby," Weiss intervened. "If it were that easy, we'd have raided every concentration camp the White Fang has. We need to think of a proper plan. We'll need to at least know when the guards change their shifts, what battlesuits and other resistances we'll be facing and a lot of other things. We'll get ourselves killed if we just charge in blindly. And if you say I'm not going to participate because of this arm," she added menacingly, raising her right hand in preparation for another chop.

Ruby yelped, hastily covering the top of her head as she shook it rapidly.

"Weiss is right," Blake agreed. "With some luck, we should be able to sneak inside in about a week and break them out. We might only be able to save them and no one else though, Ruby. Are you alright with that?"

"I…" Ruby hesitated. "I understand. I'll tell everyone else there to hold on a bit more for us."

Blake nodded. Ruby may still be a young girl with too soft a heart, but she was no fool; she knew what had to be done, even if she could never bring herself to kill anyone. Not that Blake, Weiss or Yang would ever let her have to do that.

Biting her lip, the former White Fang soldier held back her tears as she remembered. She recalled all the horrid yet lucid scenery she had witnessed, as well as the countless terrifying atrocities she had performed with her own hands.

But most of all, she remembered the pain she had put her friends through, because of her incompetence. Because she had not been able to stop him back then.

Fighting back the waking nightmares, Blake clenched her fists.

"Right!" Ruby said suddenly, addressing the group. "Tomorrow, we roll out!"

* * *

**And there it is: the introductory first chapter. To be honest, I wanted to expand on the world and the situation they were in a little more, but I guess I'll leave them for next time. **

**There's a rough idea of what happened to Blake and Weiss during the attack on Beacon here, but the girls' experiences will be fleshed out in the future chapters, I promise.**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! **


	2. 02 - What's inside me

**Hello and welcome to Chapter 2! **

**Disclaimer: RWBY and its characters do not belong to me, and all rights go to their respective owners.**

* * *

The room was soundproof. No one would know if he fought back in here. No one would know even if he killed him.

There would be no help for the interrogator if Jaune decided to slaughter him. However, the natural blonde simply could not do it. He knew, and he was certain that the interrogator knew as well, that he was not capable of any retaliation with the other members of his team at their mercy.

Fortunately, they could not use the other three members of Team JNPR, at least not today. Pyrrha was still out cold from yesterday, and Ren and Nora were still recovering as well from their wounds – wounds that made Jaune want to hang himself for being responsible for, simply because he had refused to talk. As a result, Jaune was the only one left who could still be tortured without that high a risk of dying, albeit relatively.

"Are we feeling chatty today?" the Faunus asked merrily.

Jaune did not reply. He was going to respect his teammates' wishes, as well as live by his word. He had no intention of selling out Team RWBY, and he was prepared to endure whatever they could throw at him. What worried him, however, was what they would do to his teammates; his mouth tended to become very loose whenever he heard any of them scream; particularly when it was Pyrrha – the warrior who never screamed.

"Let's have a nice talk," his interrogator suggested, holding a pair of rusted scissors. The smile on his face, if it could even be called that, was nothing but vile and twisted.

The room was soundproof. No one would hear Jaune Arc scream.

* * *

Yang hated the nights where she woke up because of thirst. The large cave/room of a hideout they lived in now naturally had no windows whatsoever, and since it was a large space without individual rooms, one would have to light a torch to see in the constant darkness. Blake could manage just fine with her night vision, but Yang certainly was not. However, lighting a torch also meant that she might wake the others up, which Yang wanted to avoid.

Straining her eyes as she lit a couple of matches, Yang examined the other beds while she waited for her vision to adjust to her surroundings. She could roughly make out the silhouettes of Weiss and Ruby sleeping on the same bed, with the younger girl wrapping her arms around the heiress.

The first week in the cave was rather rough on Ruby. She was still in shock, and the hardness of the bed carved from stone did not help matters. Even after they managed to acquire enough rags, feathers and cotton to sew up four thin mattresses (which, for all her complaints, Weiss was surprisingly satisfied with), Ruby still had some trouble sleeping. That problem was finally resolved by having someone sleep with her every night, initially with Yang and eventually becoming Yang, Weiss and Blake in turns. Not that they minded; it was difficult to sleep alone sometimes after all.

Getting to her feet quietly, Yang froze when something caught her eye in a passing glance. Or, to be specific, when the absence of someone attracted her attention.

Blake was not in her bed, nor in the remaining empty bed for that matter. Yang looked around hastily, half-expecting and half-hoping to find her somewhere in the cave, but there was no such luck. Her heart pounding furiously, Yang left for the passageway out of the cave, lighting a torch in the process.

* * *

It did not take long for her to find Blake at the speed she ran. The Faunus girl was seated by the large boulder blocking the entranceway, knees hugged to her chest and face buried behind her hair and arms.

"Blake?" Yang called out, making the girl in question jump as though a sudden electric shock had been applied to her body. Very slowly and timidly, she lifted her head and looked at Yang, tear tracks still wet against her cheeks.

"Y-Yang?" she stuttered nervously, taking a second or two to recover from her surprise before hastily rubbing wiping her eyes. "W-what're you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Yang replied, setting the torch by the wall as she sat next to her. "What're you doing?"

"N-noth-" Blake began.

"Okay, what's the real reason?" Yang cut across her swiftly.

Blake hesitated for a few minutes, and Yang waited her out. Blake knew that Yang would not relent, and Yang knew that Blake would eventually share everything with her; they were partners, and their bonds had only strengthened after escaping from Beacon.

"I…" Blake said after a lengthy pause. "I dreamed of the night they attacked Beacon again. I-it was when I chased after the attackers."

"I see," Yang replied slowly. Blake had mentioned killing some White Fang soldiers that day – a memory that undoubtedly still haunted her today. She had not cried about it for so long that Yang hoped that she had gotten over it.

"I killed them," Blake went on, her voice shaky. "They were attacking the students, and I… I…"

"You did what you had to do, Blake," Yang assured her. "Like I've said before: we don't blame-"

"I think I… enjoyed it."

Yang became silent instantly. Blake had never mentioned that part before.

"I was so angry at first I didn't realize I killed them," Blake admitted, digging her nails into her arms. "But after I calmed down a bit and understood what I was doing… I didn't want to stop. I just went on and killed until Sun stopped me… but I knew some part of me was _happy._ I enjoyed killing them and seeing them suffer, Yang. They were Faunus, same as me, but I _enjoyed _seeing them in pain."

Gritting her teeth at the horror of those words, Blake went silent. Yang took a few moments to absorb what her partner had just said, pondering how to reply.

"I'm a monster," Blake hissed. "I'm an abomination that slaughters others for amusement. I-"

"Stop," Yang commanded, stopping Blake with her authoritative tone.

"B-but I-"

"Hush," Yang said, much more gently this time. She put a soft hand on Blake's head, making her flinch at the contact. "You're putting too much thought into this. You're not that kind of person, and we all know that. You were just scared and panicked back then."

"That's not it, Yang," Blake whispered, fresh tears escaping the corners of her eyes. "I've never realized it myself all this time, so of course you guys wouldn't know. What if this is who I really am? W-what if I actually want to cut people up and watch them writhe in agony?"

"Well then, here," Yang replied easily, wrapping her arms around a very surprised Blake. "You can cut me up if you want."

"N-no!" Blake replied hastily, trying to push her away, but Yang would not let go. "What're you-?"

"See?" Yang asked, a toothy smile blossoming across her face. "You don't want to kill me, do you? You can't say that you're a monster if you care enough to hold back, right?"

Blake stopped struggling, instead escaping into Yang's embrace. She did not speak, but held on to the blonde's unnaturally warm arms. Even without conversing, she managed to convey her hopes: that Yang would not ever let go. Perhaps Yang would even be able to read her mind and understand that Blake wanted nothing more than for her to be right.

"B-but what if I act up again?" she asked desperately. "What if I can't control myself and end up hurting people again?"

"Well, there's always my Semblance," Yang replied lightheartedly, her tone suggesting that she was joking. "If you think about it, you cutting me up just makes me stronger, right?"

"That's not funny, Yang," Blake pointed out.

"Neither is you being pessimistic," Yang countered. "If we're going to rescue Team JNPR and save the world, we're going to need you to be strong, okay? If you're going to be such a downer, Ruby's going to have a hard time too, so I won't let you do that.

"You're not some sadistic murderer," she said, feeling Blake relax a little in her hold. "You're my little kitty cat, you know? I won't let you become that. But you have to hold on for me as well, alright?"

Blake trembled. She remembered how terrified she had been after realizing what she was, and how she wanted to end her own life right then and there. She could not deny her actions, no matter how hard she tried. She would cry painfully every time she woke up from her nightmares, haunted violently by images of her dead teammates, their blood drenching her hands.

"So long as we're here, it's going to be okay," Yang assured her. "We'll find a way around any problem. We've done fine so far, haven't we?"

Anchoring herself to those words, Blake nodded meekly.

"We'll always be here, kitty cat," Yang pulled Blake closer and stroked her hair. Sometimes, Blake reminded her of Ruby: reckless, frightened, and in need of someone to tell them that everything was going to be alright. Even if Yang herself was not that confident if it was really going to be.

"We'll always be here," she repeated, praying that it would not be a lie.


	3. 03 - Worries

**Welcome to chapter 3!**

**Here's a shoutout to CC-2224 Commander Cody and his story "From Hunted to Hunter"! It's good, so be sure to check it out!**

* * *

She remembered their faces vividly. They were less than attractive, but that all changed after she was done. Despite the situation, despite all the violence and bloodshed – or perhaps precisely because of it – she smiled.

Their expressions, contorted with fear and wrecked with pain, looked so tranquil as they bathed in their own blood. Their bodies, even when twisted in odd angles and riddled with horrible wounds, glimmered with vibrant life as bright crimson gushed from them like endless rivers.

She knew that she was smiling. Even though she had undoubtedly just robbed them of their lives, she could not help but feel elated. The carnage around her felt so inconsequential now that she even wondered why everyone was panicking. If anything, it was strange that they would want to run away from this beautiful sight.

With great reluctance, she tore her eyes away from the dazzling sight and shifted her gaze. Her eyes lingered on those whom she could refer to as her peers, but they ultimately stopped at those whose faces were hidden behind ludicrous masks. Those were masks that she used to wear, and they were people she used to call her comrades.

Despite that, Blake Belladonna ignored her roaring conscience and brandished Gambol Shroud.

Beacon could burn to the ground for all she cared.

* * *

Yang felt Blake's shaking lessen as her ragged breathing began to calm down. She did not let go of her partner, but the blonde could feel her own grip loosening.

She was afraid. She had believed that she was fine after entering Beacon, with her teammates, her sister, and her friends by her side. She was going to be a Huntress, faced with countless possibilities and adventures. Her future was to be a mystery, and she would face it with a daring smile, ready for any challenge. But this was not something she – or anyone else – anticipated.

There was nothing fun about living like this. There was no thrill to be had in such a world, and the sole greatest challenge that stood in their way was anything but enjoyable. If it came down to it, they might have to kill people – living, breathing people – with their bare hands. Blake had already done it, and it had all but broken her. What if Yang herself had to do it? What if Ruby had to kill someone as well? What would they become?

"Yang," Blake whispered, her nails digging into Yang's skin. "Don't ever leave."

"Yeah, I know," Yang replied, her voice lacking the conviction she thought she possessed. "Yang in there, Blakey."

Blake managed a shaky laugh. Yang laughed along softly, looking at the frightened child in her arms with gentle lilac eyes. Her mind, which was usually free of worries, harbored yet another one:

If Blake gave in to her inner madness, would she really be able to stop her?

* * *

"Hurry up, Ruby!" Weiss hissed, ducking back into the bush as Ruby scampered towards where she was.

"Sorry, sorry!" Ruby hastily apologized in a hushed whisper, diving in next to Weiss. "I just got a little carried away!"

"You got carried away fighting _Beowolves_?" Weiss asked incredulously. "Are you stupid? Wait, what am I talking about; of course you are. But have you finally lost your mind, Ruby Rose?!"

"I said I was sorry…" Ruby mumbled, looking down guiltily and refusing to meet Weiss's eyes. Her puppy dog eyes had not changed in the least over time, and their effectiveness when it came to Weiss had not diminished. "It just made me a little happy fighting them…"

"And why is that?" Weiss asked, heaving a sigh. One of these days, she was going to get over her leader's cuteness. One of these days. Eventually.

"Because they were the first enemies we faced together," Ruby admitted shyly. "I don't know if you remember-"

"Back at the initiation," Weiss continued for her. "They were our first enemies in the Emerald Forest, right? Of course I remember: you charged in like a dolt and got in my way."

"I-I was just trying to-" Ruby began, but Weiss put a finger on her lips to stop her from talking.

"You were just trying to prove that you could take care of yourself," Weiss finished for her, receiving a mute nod of surprise in reply. "I was well aware of that from the beginning. You don't have to prove anything to me, you dolt."

"Then you could at least stop calling me a dolt…" Ruby grumbled under her breath.

"I heard that," Weiss snapped. "Maybe if you stopped acting like- ouch!"

Wincing, Weiss clutched her cast painfully. The act was nothing more than a reflex, but it was enough to make Ruby go into instant worrying mode.

"Hush," Weiss instantly said, before Ruby could voice out her thoughts. "I'm fine. I'm not going to head back to the cave now, so humor me and focus on the mission. No 'but's," she added, as Ruby was about to say something else. The younger girl sulked.

"Sorry to interrupt this lovely moment," Yang's voice came from their earbuds. "But we're ready on our end."

"Let's do it," Weiss replied. "On my count. Three…"

"Two-one!" Yang cut in, before a loud burst of sound exploded in the distance.

"I swear, that woman…" Weiss sighed. "Go, Ruby."

"Aye, aye!" Ruby responded, disappearing in a shower of rose petals.

Weiss waited with bated breath, checking and double-checking her glyphs to make sure they were perfect. She had cast one on Ruby to boost her speed even further, and with a few more she was able to launch Ruby into the air, giving her a bird's eye view of the concentration camp. At the speed she was moving now, Ruby might as well have been flying.

While Yang distracted the soldiers by creating a ruckus near the camp, Blake was to keep watch on the gates to check for changes in guard duties in cases of unexpected and possibly dangerous situations. In that time, Ruby was to take note of any information she could gather with her eyes as she zoomed through the air.

It was a sloppy plan and naturally worse than spending days scouting the place out properly and covertly, but they all agreed that it was best not to drag things out anymore; the concentration camps were no holiday resorts, and one could not even imagine what happened to those who were believed to have ties with fugitives and traitors.

Weiss, who was in charge of support, cringed when she remembered those images. Not long after the attack on Beacon, the White Fang had hung bodies, if they could even be called that, of three boys on the Beacon Tower. Some had missing limbs, and those who were unfortunate enough to keep them bore the countless marks of unimaginable torture – marks that snaked their way across every inch of skin, every ounce of muscle on their being.

Their faces were the only parts that were kept relatively clean, for the sole purpose of making them identifiable, not that it mattered when the decay settled in and maggots began feasting on their corpses. For the worthless humans who dared to entertain the thought of rebelling against the White Fang's regiment, the bodies were a gruesome reminder of the consequences of those forbidden notions.

Weiss had thought she would never come to sympathize with the members of Team CRDL, but when she had seen their corpses hung on the tower, she could not help but cry. While she did not condone their bullying of Faunus back in school, she could not forgive the heinous deeds performed on them in the name of 'retribution'.

To date, their leader, Cardin Winchester, was still nowhere to be found. Weiss, like the other three who made up Team RWBY, could only pray that he was safe out there somewhere. But if being safe meant having to live with those horrid images, who could say for sure that Cardin had not already taken his own life?

If they ever failed, they would probably end up worse than Russel, Dove or Sky. Blake would probably be the only unfortunate one kept alive, just so they could ravage both her body and mind until her will shattered into a billion pieces. Even a passing thought about it made Weiss want to throw up and break out into tears.

_Keep it together, Weiss,_ she told herself firmly. _You have to be strong. You're the coolheaded heiress of this team and a Schnee. You cannot be afraid._

"I'm back!" Ruby announced, diving into the bush again. "Did you miss me?"

"How's it looking, Yang?" Weiss asked into the microphone on her cheek, tapping her earbud while patting Ruby's head, making the younger girl smile.

"No problem," Yang replied. "I've managed to give 'em the slip. Just to be sure, I'll take a detour before going back though."

"I'll stay a little longer to observe," Blake spoke up. "Ruby and Weiss, you two head back to the hideout first."

Weiss stood up, ready to leave, but stopped when she realized that Ruby was not following her. Instead, the silver-eyed former Huntress-in-training had her gaze affixed at the concentration camp looming beyond the forest.

"Please be alright, guys," she thought aloud. "We're coming to save you."

Without a word, Weiss put a hand on her leader's shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze.

"We'll definitely rescue them," she assured her. "And don't worry; Jaune may be dense, but he's tough. And that goes double for Pyrrha."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, holding Weiss's hand in return. "They'll be alright. They have to be."

No one was sure what to believe in anymore. They were children, no matter how much they trained to fight monsters, and their world had been destroyed then rebuilt in an unrecognizable manner. Everyone was scared of what the future had in store, and confidence was a luxury only the foolish could afford. All they had were a goal, accompanied by countless worries of their friends, family, of today, of tomorrow.

But right now, the four girls cast aside their worries with a fierce resolve. If the future was uncertain, then they could only believe in their own power and change the present bit by bit. In a world devoid of hope, it was only them who could be the beacon of light in the darkness.

Completely unaware of the horrid trials ahead, Team RWBY stepped forward on a path of no return.

* * *

**Warning: the story will probably start getting kinda dark soon, and yes people will die. I won't say who just yet of course, but if you wanna back out now's the time.**

**If not, please look forward to the next chapter! And if it's not too much trouble, do leave a review as well! Till then!**


	4. 04 - Breakout

**Welcome to chapter 4! Eh… um… That's it.**

**Oh yeah, I'm going to be moving this a little fast, because going through the entire scouting process is too tedious without much action, so here:**

* * *

He could hardly see out of his undamaged eye. Not that it mattered; there was barely any light in the room anyway. All he needed were his ears to hear the sound of Nora breathing.

He tried turning to look at her, hoping to see her face in the dim illumination, but every tiny movement made his body roar with pain.

"Are you awake, Ren?" Nora's voice drifted into his ears, strangely out of focus. He wondered if his eardrum was still working properly, and if it ever would again.

"Yeah," he muttered, his throat dry as a desert. "H-"

"How're you feeling?" Nora asked, beating him to it. She sounded almost like her usual self, but Ren could tell from the subtle differences that the pain she was enduring was by no means lighter than his.

"Like I could ride an Ursa," Ren replied, forcing out a smile. "Is my queen of the castle doing alright?"

"Royally in pain, but yes," Nora replied cheekily.

A heavy silence followed, broken every now and then by the wretched screams down the corridor, coming from the room that they had all come to be familiar with as well as dread.

"Jaune's holding out," Nora pointed out, her voice cracking up. "They've been at it for an hour now…"

Ren shut his good eye in an unsuccessful attempt to drown out the sound. All that accomplished was conjuring a myriad of grotesque images, eloquent in the terror they enforced, inside his head. The more he tried to shake them away, the more they rammed against his skull, demanding to be seen. On some nights, it nearly drove him mad.

_Please, _he begged wordlessly. _Please, just make it stop._

Some part of him knew that they were better off dead. Some part of him wished that Jaune would just die right then and there, just so he would not have to suffer anymore. Some part of him wished that he was strong enough to kill his own teammates and then commit suicide.

But regardless of physical strength, Lie Ren could not muster the heartlessness his usual stoic demeanor might have reflected. Even if it hurt to hell, he still could not bear the thoughts of them dying. He was a person who sought to depend on no one, but right now, he was willing to toss aside that pointless pride and beg for help.

_Please, _he pleaded in his head, not to the White Fang, but towards the four girls who were not even there with them. _Please, save us. Please._

Nora had never heard Ren cry before, and thought it was just her hallucinating at first. But when the darkness of the cell amplified those muffled sobs, she had no choice but to accept that sound which tore brutally at her chest.

* * *

Team RWBY sat huddled around the stump in their cave, looking through the pieces of paper with odd scribbles that were their days of hard work. Ruby thrust one on top the rest, pointing at a line of rather neatly written words above a sketched diagram.

"This is the rough layout I got," she said. "They have two Paladins, and they're spaced apart so we don't have to worry about fighting both the battlesuits at once. After Yang's disturbance, only this one here moved. That means this one at the back of the camp is guarding something so important they won't move unless an attack is confirmed."

"So you're saying that the building it's guarding is where Team JNPR is?" Weiss asked.

"It should be," Blake replied, pulling out a few pieces of paper. "According to my source, Team JNPR were treated as Class-A Defects-"

She stopped, evidently disturbed by the words she had just said. 'Defects' was a term used by the White Fang regiment for humans – who were 'defective trash of nature that failed to evolve' because they did not have animal parts like Faunus did. A higher class of Defect simply meant that they were a greater degree of trash than the common trash was. Granted, it was arguably a far better term than the other far more degrading ones, but it had grown to replace the word 'human' over time. The thought of it being something that the White Fang came up with made Blake feel like throwing up.

"Blake?" Yang asked, reaching out gingerly to pat her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she replied, giving the blonde's hand a firm squeeze. "As I was saying, they were kept here under suspicions of plotting terrorist activities, and they are questioned for any information they had on… us. They're the number one lead that the White Fang has, so the guard on them is extremely tight."

"What about the guards?" Weiss prompted.

"I spotted no less than fifty out in the open, with about thirty Grimm," Ruby replied. "I can't be sure how many were indoors at the time, but they patrol in pairs. We should be able to beat them easily once the Paladins are out of the picture. The Ursi they have shouldn't be a problem either. They don't change the patrol routes every day, but there're no uncovered grounds either so we can't sneak by them."

"It's strange, though," Yang pointed out. "This isn't going to be much of a fight, but I can't see the White Fang underestimating us like this."

"Maybe that's the point," Ruby thought aloud. "If the defenses are so weak, no one would suspect that they'd keep such dangerous criminals there, right?"

"Perhaps," Weiss mused. "But if that's all we have to deal with, then we should be able to succeed even with a frontal assault. We can trash the place up and free all the humans there in one go."

"Well then, let's go now!" Ruby said, slamming her palms on the table. "We don't have time to waste!"

"We'll wait till daybreak," Blake said resolutely. "The Faunus have an advantage over you three at night, not to mention over Team JNPR as well. Weiss, you better rest up; we're going to need your glyphs badly tomorrow."

"Don't try, sis," Yang warned, just as Ruby was about to say something else in protest. "You don't want to get lectured again."

Ruby sulked.

* * *

"Everyone ready?"

No one replied, but Ruby had not expected them to. Everyone was too focused on their target to give her a verbal cue. Besides, they were always ready.

"Weiss?" she asked, receiving an impatient grunt in reply.

"Yes, preparations are set," she grumbled, making the glyph beneath their feet glow brighter to emphasize the point. "Let's just go before your stupid red cloak draws any attention."

"I knew this one suits me the best," Ruby said in a very contented tone, rubbing her cheeks on the fabric. The fact that wearing their original attire meant that they did not have to put on Collars was great too. "Alright, gals; Operation Save JNPR begins now!"

"Terrible naming sense as always, sis!" Yang commented, jumping off the edge of the glyph.

One by one, the other three followed suit. They emerged from the cover of the clouds, falling from high up in the sky towards the camp below them. While Ruby was against the idea of Weiss having to do such a sky dive with one arm in a cast, her protests were immediately silenced by Weiss's glare.

Yang, who was the first to approach the camp, fired Ember Celica in rapid succession. The Atlesian Paladin beneath her, completely unaware of what was hitting it, buckled under the impact but not breaking. Using the remaining bullets to break her fall, Yang did a backflip onto the battlesuit's head.

Weiss slowed her descent with a glyph, hopping through the air as she headed for the nearest barracks and freezing all the doors. Blake launched the ribbon of Gambol Shroud at the front gates, pulling herself towards it and slicing the large metal structure into pieces with a glowing blade powered up by Weiss.

Ruby launched herself at the gathering guards, using the rifle fire from Crescent Rose to propel her at breakneck speed. She used both legs to kick the nearest White Fang soldier squarely in the chest, sending him crashing into the side of a building. Before his partner could react, she blasted him away with a point-blank shot.

Before the second soldier even landed, Yang tore off one of the Paladin's arms, using it to clobber the other arm that was flailing about trying to grab her. Weiss, summoning a large wall of ice to slow the progress of more incoming soldiers, guided the humans towards the exit where they ran desperately towards. Blake swiftly took out the guards at the entrance, clearing the Defects a path towards the forest ahead.

"Could use some help!" Ruby yelled, slamming a soldier into the air with the flat end of her scythe; her bullets were not fatal if they used their Aura, but Crescent Rose's sharp edge was a cause of concern.

Weiss sighed. Despite the situation, Ruby still could not bring herself to harm the enemies. That naivety was always frustrating in the thick of battle, but that frustration always died down mysteriously afterward. She was going to have to look into that.

As Weiss and Ruby fought back-to-back against the soldiers, Blake sped across the compound. With the effects of Weiss's glyphs still lingering, she could take down the remaining Atlesian Paladin by herself. Using her clones as a foothold to evade the uncoordinated attacks from the Grimm that were released, Blake used her ribbon and blade as a grappling hook to sail through the air.

Yang had altered the plan a little so that Blake would have to fight as little enemies as possible. She did not have to spell it out for her; Blake understood her intentions perfectly. Truthfully, she was thankful for it; there was no telling what would happen if she snapped right here. In the worst case scenario, she could cost everyone their lives or condemn them to a life of never-ending torture.

Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Blake charged at the Atlesian Paladin, slicing the air between them with her blade and sheath. With a bright ephemeral glow, Gambol Shroud left a cross of pure light in the wake of its movement, tearing across the distance between them and towards the battlesuit like a fired bullet.

Before the pilot could even react, the large suit split into four, cut through cleanly as though its armor was nothing more than paper. There was a spray of red liquid that followed, but Blake had already shut her eyes to avoid witnessing it.

Blake brought up her arms, shielding her from the burst of light that erupted in front of her as the battlesuit exploded. Ignoring the smoldering wreckage, she dashed towards the small building behind it. If her source was correct and their deductions were right, then this was where Jaune and the others would be.

Before she could slice open the door, the piece of metal flew off its hinges, landing on the floor with several large dents in it. Someone had forced it open, and it took Blake a few moments to recognize him.

"Professor Port?" she wondered aloud.

The man had changed considerably. His hair and moustache were nowhere as clean and well-kept as when he was a teacher at Beacon, and instead of his suit he now wore nothing but bloodied rags along with a dark brown Collar. His body was heavily wounded and bandaged at some places, but the most noticeable change was his face. Or specifically, his now missing left eye.

"Miss Belladonna!" he exclaimed, just as surprised to see her. "So it _was _you! Come quickly! You must help them!"

Blake did not hesitate, but before she could even make a move, another figure tumbled out of the lightless interior of the building. This one had blonde hair, and was carrying another figure with red hair.

"Jaune!" Blake instantly sheathed her weapon, rushing to help them to their feet. Pyrrha was unconscious, and Jaune was fading fast.

"Help… them…" Jaune muttered weakly, his eyes hazy and out of focus. He held on to Blake's clothes tightly, desperate to get his message through. "Pyrrha… Nora… Ren..."

"Blake!" Yang's voice called from behind, only to be cut off by her own gasp. "C-come on; we've got to get them out of here."

"Clear us a path, Miss Xiao Long," Peter instructed. "I'll help Miss Belladonna move them."

"But- you-" Yang began, but stopped her own sentence halfway. Now was not the time to be indecisive. "Understood. Come in, Ruby, Weiss, we have…"

Carrying both Jaune and Pyrrha on her back, Blake waited for Peter to emerge with Ren and Nora in a similar fashion before making a mad sprint for the entrance. Their way was hardly barred, save the occasional corpses of Grimm and the unconscious White Fang soldiers. Halfway there, Ruby and Weiss jumped in, covering their rear as the group neared the exit.

"We must hurry!" Peter urged. "We need to get out of the effective range of their Leashes!"

Taking over the duty of carrying Ren and Nora, Ruby ran ahead, almost tripping in the process. Weiss supported Peter as Yang plowed through the enemies ahead, destroying the entire camp as she went. Blake was tired, of course, but the adrenaline pumping through her system kept her feet stead as she sprinted.

Yang punched the last few guards into the fortified walls, where they left a small hole upon contact. Ruby made it through the entrance Blake had made in destroying the gate, but as she did, Jaune whispered something:

"To your… left…"

Out of reflex, Blake turned, but even as her eyes acknowledged the presence of the White Fang guard and the Leash in his hands, she could not do anything. Everyone was carrying or supporting someone, and Yang was too far away to notice. If he pressed that button now-

"RUN!" Peter roared, shoving Weiss away and charging at the nameless Faunus soldier with surprising speed. He managed to tackle him and send them into the air briefly, away from the fleeing group. But the Faunus still managed to push the button.

Peter's whole body flew into odd spasms, twitching violently as he slumped over the soldier. He could not speak, but small, choked gargles emerged from his lips as he fought against the pain.

Weiss froze for a few seconds before grabbing Myrtenaster and running towards the soldier, who managed to push Peter off of him. As the former teacher continued to struggle against the electricity from his Collar, Blake could feel a weight slipping off her back.

With a strangled war cry, Jaune joined the fray with nothing but his bare hands. The White Fang soldier, seeing a worthless Defect running towards him unarmed with a Collar around his neck, smiled as prepared to activate his Leash. The moment Jaune took another step, he would be within range and he would share Peter's fate.

Weiss would not make it in time. Blake could not stop him with Pyrrha on her back. All she could do was watch as Jaune rushed into his doom, helpless to the events unfolding before her.

Just then, they stopped. Weiss and Jaune, who had been so intent on attacking the enemy, halted in their tracks. Blake briefly wondered why they had stopped, but she understood the moment she looked at the soldier's feet.

Peter Port lay unmoving on the dirt covered ground, his fingers not twitching in the least. Blake stared at his chest, hoping to see some sort of movement – anything to indicate that he was still alive – but there was no such comfort to be found.

That split second's pause was all it took for _him_ to act. Without an ounce of mercy or hesitation, he brought down his heavy mace to the back of the soldier's head, producing a sharp cracking sound.

"Shit," he cursed, checking for a pulse from Peter's wrist. He lifted him onto his shoulders, turning to a dumbstruck Weiss and Jaune as they continued standing like statues where they were. "Let's go; there're still more goons around."

Ignoring their confused words which sounded more like weird gibberish, Cardin Winchester ran towards the gates.

* * *

"Ma'am! The southwestern-"

"I know," she replied flatly. "They've escaped."

"Yes ma'am," the soldier at the door answered, waiting for her instructions.

"Tell the guards to give up the chase," she commanded. "Give them a few days to feel safe before they retreat to their hideout. Then track their locations with the signal from JNPR's Collars."

"Yes ma'am!" the soldier saluted before walking off, leaving the door to close by itself.

She sighed. Team RWBY was indeed strong, but they were so predictable at the same time. In a matter of days, they would be able to wipe them out. They would never be able to remove a Collar without the proper means, and it would just be their demise when the time was ripe. She could only hope that they would somehow manage to pull through-

She shook those thoughts out of her head hastily. She could not be thinking about that right now; she had a mission to carry out. She could no longer entertain those weak-minded thoughts.

Repeating that in her head as though trying to hypnotize herself, Velvet Scarlatina leaned back on her chair and heaved a troubled sigh.

* * *

**Well, yeah. I had to decide whether to let Peter Port die in a dramatic way, go down in a blaze of glory, or just killing him off quickly in a way that reflected the status of humans in this current society. Wasn't a tough choice, but how well did it work? Do let me know!**

**Till next chapter!**


	5. 05 - Burial

**Welcome to chapter 5! What with the rushing through everything in the last chapter, figured now it's time to dial back the pace. And of course let everything that happened sink in.**

**Here we go:**

* * *

He was not the kindest of people. He was not the nicest of friends. He was not the bravest of warriors. Now, he was a wanted fugitive.

Cardin Winchester had not been entirely satisfied with his life. Hell, most people were not satisfied with their own pointless lives either. But Cardin had wanted more out of his. He despised weakness, because if he possessed it, he could not rise. If he wanted more out of life, he had to beat that weakness away with strength. Undeniable, unmatched strength.

He was not the best of students. There was no point in regurgitating endless chunks of text while they could be out hunting monsters. There was no superiority to be proven in there. He found the lectures – the awful, never-ending wastages of time – to be such a drag; as if being able to recall historic dates would help beat down a Beowolf. As a result, he spent every waking moment in them (which was not very long) wishing he was working out instead.

When the fighting finally came to him, he faltered. Much like with the Ursa in Forever Fall, he got cold feet when something beyond his abilities appeared out of nowhere. He might have been afraid of dying, but he knew that there was something else in there that he feared: losing.

He detested weakness, not just in himself, but in others as well. He relished his own strength and power – the proof that he was far better. Beating down Arc countless times affirmed him of that.

But when the White Fang attacked, he became powerless.

Sure, he had managed to fight back some of the goons, but when his team was surrounded, he knew there was no way out. They were Faunus – people like Scarlatina whom he used to bully. They were powerless outcasts shunned by the world, forever at the mercy of the strong. At the mercy of people like Cardin.

He remembered watching Russel charge at their enemies, his desperate shout cut short by the lance impaling his stomach. As a torrential waterfall of blood gushed from the wound with the weapon pulled out, Cardin remembered the sheer shock that had frozen over Russel's face. He remembered that ghastly expression as his friend fell, torn to pieces while still falling by vicious claws.

Time crawled on, preserving every terrible second in gruesome detail. His trembling fingers gripped the mace's handle as it lunged at one head after another, roaring for blood. His burning eyes pleaded desperately for the sight before him to be a lie, an illusion, anything – but his fallen comrades never did get up.

He remembered begging them for mercy. Whether it had been mercy for them or for himself, he had no clue. The tears blurred his vision and left an unpleasant salty flavor in his mouth, washing away the coppery taste of blood. He remembered their laughter – dark and humorless – as they trampled his face into the ground with their feet. Even then, he did not stop begging.

He remembered the sight that followed clearly. Despite that, he still wondered if it was all a dream. He was sure of what he saw, but his numb mind refused to believe that of all people, Velvet Scarlatina was pleading on his behalf. That she, the Faunus they had constantly picked on, would beg her own species to spare Cardin.

He did not know what to think. Running away with his tail between his legs, Cardin Winchester's mind was a jumbled mess of confusion and rage. As he narrowly escaped the clutches of the White Fang and the burning battlefield that was Beacon Academy, he let the rage alone occupy his soul. A rage which cleared his mind of all else, and a rage which was only amplified by the sight of his teammates hung on Beacon's tower.

The White Fang had murdered his friends. Those terrorists had made him powerless to resist, and had reduced him to a worthless dog groveling pathetically in the dirt. The enemies of mankind had done nothing but laugh at his suffering.

They deserved no mercy. They deserved no compassion. More than the need for power or any form of petty revenge, Cardin Winchester let himself get swallowed by rage and hatred. Being weak or strong no longer bothered him; all that was left was a seething bloodlust directed at the monsters of the White Fang.

He had lost everything. Now it was their turn to suffer. Their turn to lose.

He was not the kindest of people. He was not the nicest of friends. He was not the bravest of warriors. But he was not going to give in without a fight.

* * *

Weiss covered the group's rear as they fled, navigating through the trees and bushes that served as cover. She cursed herself in her head for sticking with her heels, since they were the only ones leaving the most noticeable footprints. Carrying Jaune made it difficult to reduce the weight of her steps, too.

"Where's your destination?" she heard Cardin ask.

"Our hideout," Blake replied, still supporting Pyrrha on her back. "It's just-"

"Don't," Cardin said sharply, running ahead to catch up to Ruby, who was leading with Ren on her back; Yang had taken over carrying Nora. Weiss had to give him credit for having that much stamina, especially when he was carrying Peter Port. "Follow me. I'll take you somewhere safer."

"How do we know we can-" Blake began.

"Because I'm your information broker," he replied swiftly. "If I wanted to kill you, I'd have given you false information back then. Now shut up and follow me."

* * *

They ran through the forest as quietly as they could, occasionally hiding from the Faunus patrols or knocking them out from afar. Weiss thought several times that she would pass out, and Jaune slipped off her back quite often until Cardin noticed and carried the blonde in addition to the professor.

"I thought you were more than just a prissy princess," he spat. "At least carry your own weight."

Weiss would have wanted nothing more than to snap back at him, but was interrupted by a jolting pain in her arm still bound by the cast. She contended herself with glaring daggers at him as they ran.

Finally, they stopped in front of a small village, which was certainly not hidden or anything, but looked so peaceful and quiet it was definitely unreal. The inhabitants had to be all Faunus, or this place would have been raided into the ground ages ago.

"In here," Cardin beckoned, stepping into one of the houses without caution.

The interior of the room was extremely unfamiliar, even though it was perfectly normal (Weiss suspected it looked strange precisely because it was so mundane). There was a table, some chairs, a cabinet and some mattresses on the floor. It looked nothing out of the ordinary, but it was a sight that the girls had not seen for what felt like decades.

"Set them down; I'll get the medic," Cardin deadpanned, carrying the corpse of Peter Port outside. He had a shovel in his free hand.

The medic, a cat Faunus with a downcast expression, walked in a few minutes later and attended to the members of Team JNPR without a word to anyone. He did not even bat an eyelid towards the girls. Weiss wondered if he was not surprised by their lack of Collars, but remembered that Cardin had not been wearing one either.

"I-I'll go check on Winchester," she offered, leaving the room without waiting for a reply.

Sure enough, everyone else followed her out. They found the armored man not far from the house, finishing up with covering the grave.

"T-that was fast," Yang said, trying and failing to sound casual.

"We have a couple dug in advance," Cardin replied gravely.

Along with a rush of fatigue, Weiss felt a tight grip over her chest. The fact that Peter Port was dead was finally starting to hit her, and the fact that she had seen someone die before her eyes started to sink in as the adrenaline pumped itself out of her system.

He had always called himself a brave and strong Huntsman, having taken down countless Grimm with his renowned tenacity. He was without a doubt one of the best out there, a fact backed up by his being a teacher at Beacon, but he had been killed in the blink of eye.

One press of a button, and those within a specific radius wearing a Collar died. No matter who they were, the ones wearing the marks of domesticated animals could be snuffed out at any moment. There was no fighting back, no resisting; there was only to obey or cease to exist.

What kind of world did they live in? While the phrase 'to be human' did not necessarily apply to Faunus, what they were doing was truly inhuman. Devoid of justice, empty of all regards for life, just plain fear. This was not the kind of world Weiss wanted to protect. Not as a Huntress, nor as a Schnee, nor even as a living thing. It was just wrong.

"Hey, where'd Professor Port go?" Ruby asked suddenly. "He didn't look too good after being shocked."

No one replied her. Even Cardin seemed to have a hard time processing that sentence. Granted, Ruby had not been up close when Peter died, but they did not expect her to not know that he had died. From the look on Yang's face, however, she seemed to have anticipated it to an extent.

"Listen, shithead-" Cardin began, before catching himself. His expression softened for a few seconds as he looked at her – at her lack of animal parts, and at the face of a girl who had yet to be tarnished by reality. "We're at war, alright? The grown-ups don't have time to lying around. He's scouting the perimeter to make sure it's safe."

He looked away after saying that, clearly disgusted at his own lie. Had he lied because she was not a Faunus, and hence was not a target of his lack of compassion? Or was it simply because whatever shreds of conscience left in him had compelled him to make that decision? Either way, it made him feel sick.

"If you have anything to say, do it quickly," he muttered, heading back in the direction of the house. "We have to discuss what to do after this."

Ruby, still looking somewhat confused, followed after him. The other three, however, stayed where they were, staring at the small bulge of dirt that covered their former professor.

"… So, this is it, huh?" Yang was the first to speak up, and her voice was anything but steady. She was doing a good job hiding it, though. "After all that, now this, and all you get is a small hole in the ground."

"We can't all be choosers," Blake reasoned, biting her lip. "But he deserved better, I suppose."

"Think people will remember him?" Yang asked. "You know, when all this is over."

"They will," Weiss said resolutely. "When all this is said and done, I'll make sure they remember him. You can count on it. Let's go; we don't have time to waste here."

"Thanks, Ice Queen," Yang said, forcing out a smile as Weiss scowled. "Maybe you could give me one too when I-"

"Don't say that," Blake cut across her sharply, beating Weiss to the retort. "Please, just don't."

"Sorry," Yang said, sounding oddly convincing for once. So even she could be sorry.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Weiss left without another word. There would be another day to mourn the dead, but the living had to keep moving forward for that day to come.

* * *

"Okay, listen up," Cardin addressed the room at large, his audience being Jaune, Ren, Nora and the girls of Team RWBY. "The reason you guys can't go back to your base is because of those piece of shi- those Collars JNPR's wearing," he corrected hastily as he saw Ruby. "They can track you via those, so until we remove them, you guys are staying put here."

"What about you guys?" Blake asked. "You're at risk too if they-"

"I already lost a team," Cardin said flatly. "Losing a hideout won't faze me."

A heavy silence followed those words. The Faunus medic cleared his throat loudly, sparing anyone from having to break it.

"So long as you guys hide when the patrols come by, it's fine," he said, removing his cat ears. "Those of us with these fake Faunus parts will bluff them and keep them from raiding this place too much."

"H-how do you do that?" Blake asked. "Not all Faunus have enhanced smell, but…"

"We got some stuff from a comrade of mine," the man replied. "We have some Dust-based chemicals that allow us to fool their sense of smell. These fake ears and all are top-notch, too, so we'll be able to deceive them easily enough. Unfortunately, most of the stock's burned when the White Fang found out about it, so our stash is the last we have."

"Enough, Pat," Cardin said. "That's not relevant right now. What's relevant is how we're going to remove the Collars."

"Can they even be removed?" Jaune asked hoarsely, absentmindedly touching his grey Collar.

"With the right tools, yes," the man called Pat replied. "The fastest way would be to infiltrate the central command tower and disable all the Collars across Vale, but that's impossible so for now, we'll make do with the tools we have. It's going to be tedious, though."

"Can we-" Ren said before breaking into a fit of coughs. "Can we just slice them off?"

"No," Cardin replied. "Collars have a function that automatically electrocutes the wearer if you attempt to remove it by force. The only other way is to cut your head off."

"I-I think we'll go for the tools," Jaune said, receiving nods from Ren and Nora.

"I'll go prep," Pat offered, exiting the room and leaving Cardin alone with his former peers.

"So…" Yang said, not wanting an awkward silence again. "How many people do you have living here?"

"Sixteen," Cardin replied tiredly. "We used to have forty, but they got killed by the Grimm while avoiding patrols. Now the only ones that can fight are the only ones alive."

"You've done well to survive this long," Blake said. "What with all these people to take care of."

Cardin snorted. Like he would die before he killed every single one of those White Fang scum.

"Rest up," he said, making it sound like an order. The chit-chat was starting to get on his nerves too. "If they attack us, we'll need all the fighters we can gather. Our jammers won't cover your Collars for long."

"H-hey, Cardin," Jaune said, standing up and wincing from the effort. "Thanks for saving us."

"Take care of your own ass from now on," Cardin replied coldly. "Coz now we're even."

He left without another word. As soon as the door shut behind him, the girls from Team RWBY huddled around Team JNPR, worry and concern evident on their faces.

"You sure you're alright, mister natural-blonde?" Yang asked with a small smile gracing her lips.

"Never better," Jaune replied, groaning from the pain as he sat down. "Though arriving a few minutes earlier would've been good too."

"Hey, we tried," Yang said lightheartedly.

"Yeah, we know," he answered, smiling. "We held on for that. Thanks, guys."

"You know it," Ruby said, trading a fist bump with him. "How's… Pyrrha?"

"She's out cold, but she'll be fine," Jaune replied, casting a worried look at his partner. "Pat said she'll wake by tonight or tomorrow morning."

"That's good to hear," Blake said, sighing in relief. "I'm glad you're all safe. I'm sor-"

"This is nothing," Nora said dismissively. "We've faced far worse. Remember that time we had that food fight in the school cafeteria?"

"You knocked me through the roof, as I recall," Yang pointed out.

"Hey, you boxed my Ren with a pair of chickens, so I think it's fair," Nora fired back cheekily.

"It was his fault for using a leek!" Yang protested.

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was-"

Usually, this would be the point where Weiss stepped in, but instead she let them continue; they could all use the change of mood. No, that was not entirely accurate; they all desperately wanted a change of mood.

Looking at them argue and laugh made the weight on Weiss's chest lighten. It had felt like so long ago since the two teams had gathered for nothing but joyful banter. It felt like forever since the world was peaceful, as it should be.

"Say," Ruby said, as the laughter finally died down. "What're you guys planning to do after this? You know, after the Collars are gone."

"Well, if I had to be honest," Jaune replied hesitantly. "I think it's best to hide and wait it all out. But I value my legs," he added with a brief glance at Nora. "And I promised I'd protect this team. An Arc always keeps his word, so I'll fight. We'll all fight."

"Good to have you on board, then," Ruby said happily, trading another fist bump as Yang hi-fived Nora.

"So what're we going to do?" Weiss asked.

The room instantly went silent. Weiss could see the sweatdrop trickle down Ruby's forehead.

"Dear lord," she said exasperatedly, shaking her head. "You really don't think ahead, do you?"

"Eh heh heh…" Ruby managed guiltily. "Guilty as charged?"

Weiss mercilessly karate chopped her head.

"We should be moving on to the control tower," she said as Ruby whined in a corner, large puppy eyes filled with tears as she said something along the lines of 'Weiss is so mean' while rubbing her head. "If we can disable the Collars all across Vale, we can get all the humans to help us fight back against the White Fang. It's the logical first step."

As she said that, Weiss felt a strange chill up her spine. She knew that there was no way it was going to be easy with just the eight of them, or even with the additional sixteen on Cardin's side. The defenses at a place that important would be all but impossible to break through. The idea alone was scaring her, filling her mind with images of death and despair.

Cardin's teammates had died. Peter Port had died. She had seen enough people bite the dust to last her a lifetime. More than anything, maybe even more than wanting to return to the good old days, Weiss wanted them to be safe.

More than anything, she did not want to lose anyone ever again.

* * *

"And that concludes the report," Velvet finished.

"Run it into the ground," the harsh tone from the man on the screen decreed.

"But this might not be their actual hideout," Velvet protested. "If we let them believe that they are-"

"Run it into the ground," he repeated, shutting Velvet up for good. "It won't matter as long as we kill every single one of them. If Faunus stand in our way, eliminate them; sacrifices are necessary for a greater cause. But if you can, leave _her _alive."

"… Yes sir," Velvet complied, ending the conversation. She then turned to her second-in-command, a bear Faunus by the name of Tuck. "Prep the troops. We move out tomorrow morning."

"Yes ma'am," Tuck replied obediently. "However, we won't have the full strength as several teams are still-"

"I know that," she snapped. "Get all available soldiers ready. We move out tomorrow."

"Understood," Tuck answered, giving her a salute before leaving the room.

Velvet collapsed into her chair, staring at the floor. She was not able to buy them any time after all. Not that it mattered; they would probably have died when they foolishly but inevitably tried to fight back anyway. Maybe killing them now would save them the unavoidable suffering later.

Adam had convinced her that this was right. Humans learned through fear, and subjugation was justice. For the Faunus, there was no future but this. Velvet had denied it at first, but she eventually came to believe in what he believed. She truly started to follow the words of Adam Taurus – the man who had the world in his grasp.

He had wanted Blake alive. Even if she understood the reasons for the White Fang's way of ruling, Velvet could not bear the thought of what they would do to Blake if they ever had her alive. She and Blake stood on different sides now, but Velvet was not going to let her kind suffer at the hands of humans, much less at the hands of their own species.

_I'm sorry, Blake,_ she thought. She had never killed anyone before, but if it was Blake, she would have to summon the strength to do so. It was a mercy killing.

She justified herself with those words, deceiving herself. Adam's words had such a strong effect on her, but her words just did not have that much power over her conscience. In her conflicted mind, which had already come to terms about fighting anyone and everyone for the White Fang, one questioned surface.

Would she really be able to kill?

* * *

**Someone asked this question, and I'll answer it now: yes, I am making Velvet into what Blake used to be before she left the White Fang. What she'll choose from here on out, and what she'll experience, are entirely up to her though (well, the latter's decided by me, but whatever).**

**As usual, please leave a review (or a PM)! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask, either!**

**Till next chapter, dear readers!**


	6. 06 - Calm before the Storm

The first thing she felt was the pain. Then there was a rush of fear. Then silence.

When she regained consciousness, she thought she was back on the torture table. The lingering pain from her still-recovering wounds felt bad enough to give her that illusion, although in reality it was nowhere as excruciating as what they actually inflicted. She panicked, her body going stiff in the darkness as she kept her eyes shut, bracing herself for what was to come.

When nothing happened, Pyrrha slowly opened her eyes. It was not the first time they were pulling this trick – luring her into a false sense of security by not doing anything before ripping her body apart. On some level, she hoped that they had done that literally; at least the pain would stop then.

At first, there was nothing but darkness. When her eyes finally adjusted, however, faint moonlight gently bathed her surroundings, revealing a concrete ceiling and a small window. And him.

Sitting by her side and gripping her hand firmly, Jaune's natural blond hair danced gracefully in the night breeze as he kept watch over her. His clear blue eyes, glossy with worry, lit up when he saw that Pyrrha was finally awake.

"Pyrrha!" he exclaimed softly, thoughtful enough to keep his volume down to a whisper. "A-are you feeling alright? Do you want some water, or-"

"W-" Pyrrha began, before she was cut off by a dry cough; her throat was parched and it felt like sandpaper was being rubbed all over her windpipe. "Where are we?"

"Cardin's base," Jaune replied. "We're safe now. Wait here; I'll go get some wa-"

He never did get to finish that sentence. Pyrrha had a strong – needlessly so – grip on his hand, preventing her team leader from moving.

"Stay with me," she half-pleaded, tears welling up in her eyes. "Please."

"Of course," Jaune assured her, patting the hand he was holding with his free hand. "I'm not going anywhere."

Pyrrha nodded wordlessly. Perhaps Jaune had misunderstood her intentions, but that was fine; he probably thought that she just wanted company, but in truth, she wanted to be with him. He just did not know how special he was to her yet.

"Nora-" she croaked. "Ren-"

"They're fine," Jaune replied. "A little hurt, but they're fine."

Pyrrha covered her eyes with one palm, holding back the tears. After an eternity in that hellhole, they had finally made it out in one piece. All that pain, all that suffering, all those screams – they were behind them. At least for now.

"Pat really pulled through," Jaune said. "He managed to get rid of our Collars, so we don't have to worry about them anymore. Now you can just rest and – wargh!"

Using as much strength as she could gather, Pyrrha pulled Jaune towards her, ignoring her body's protests. She silenced him with a forceful kiss, pressing her lips roughly onto his.

After all she had gone through, Pyrrha just could not hold back anymore. Now that they were finally free of those 'interrogations', she could not restrain her relief, the happiness welling up inside her, or any of her other emotions which she had once held down with solid control.

As swiftly as it came, the kiss ended. Jaune looked confused beyond words, opting for displaying an expression of utter bewilderment. Pyrrha said nothing to him, and turned away so that her back was to him instead. Their hands had parted at some point in time without her realizing.

Jaune liked Weiss. Pyrrha was well aware of that. She knew that his eyes were always full of the white-haired heiress, and had hardly any time for Pyrrha as a love interest. Sure, they were great partners and their chemistry as teammates and friends was great, but Jaune had never seen Pyrrha like a girl he could love. Acknowledging that made her heart throb painfully, in a way far worse than any injuries she sustained.

She said nothing to him, listening to the hammering of her own heart against her ribcage as she tried drifting off to sleep. The silence returned, enveloping them as Pyrrha's chest ached unbearably. Knowing that she and Jaune could never be hurt, and it hurt so badly it felt like her heart had been crushed in mid-beat. All that was left was fear – a distinct fear of solitude. A fear that she would be alone again, just like before.

The first thing she felt was the pain. Then there was a rush of fear. Then silence.

* * *

Cardin sat at the entrance of the village, occasionally poking at the fake bear ears he was wearing. He had hoped the scent alone would be enough, but Pat had been adamant about the ears. Cardin personally had no idea why he even bothered wearing a disguise when his face was pretty well known. Not nearly as notorious as Team RWBY was, but he was getting there.

Turning around sharply at the sound of approaching footsteps, Cardin almost lunged at the figure before realizing it was Blake. With an annoyed grunt, he set down his mace and resumed watching the woods.

"You're not afraid I'll attack you?" Blake asked cautiously, approaching Cardin's highly vulnerable back. Even as she said that, she sat down beside him.

"I know a White Fang trash when I see one," Cardin snapped. "What the hell do you want?"

"I wanted to at least say thank you," Blake replied. "For providing us with the information and helping us back there."

"Don't get so friendly with me," Cardin warned. "I only helped you because we have a common enemy and we were shorthanded."

"_The enemy of my enemy is my friend_?" Blake quoted, earning herself a derisive snort from Cardin.

"Piss off," he said. "We might be allies, but you're still a Faunus. We're not friends. If you're done yapping leave me the fuck alone."

He knew he was contradicting himself, and Blake probably knew it as well, but neither of them decided to point it out; they both knew that if the matter was pushed, a mace would go flying.

"I can cover you," Blake offered. "Keeping watch at night is my specialty-"

"Because you're a Faunus," Cardin finished for her. "I get it. Now piss off."

Blake hesitated, but Cardin clearly was not in the mood to budge from that spot. Defeated, she stood up and headed back to where her team was, leaving her former peer alone to this thoughts.

"God dammit," Cardin muttered under his breath. He knew he was not a nice guy, but that was overboard even by his standards, which was saying a lot. "Sorry."

But of course, Blake was not there to hear those words.

* * *

"Hey kitty cat," Yang whispered softly, careful not to wake Ruby and Weiss who were asleep, snuggled on a large mattress. "How was the talk?"

"Not too good," Blake replied in dismay. "At least he didn't start pulling on my ears."

"If he did, I'd break his legs," Yang said, half serious and half joking.

"Now you're starting to sound like Nora," Blake commented with a light smile, lying down next to her.

They lay there for a few minutes, with neither of them saying a word. Despite that, an uncanny eloquence conveyed their thoughts across quite clearly.

"The cave's going to be lively," Yang muttered, a familiar excitement in her voice. "Shame we only have four beds, though."

"Guess we have no choice but to share one, then," Blake replied playfully. "Ruby and Weiss seemed to be used to sleeping together too, and I guess Team JNPR won't have complaints about that arrangement."

"Agreed," Yang chuckled. "Let's rest up; we have to move again tomorrow."

Blake nodded, closing her eyes obediently but refusing to relax. The day had passed quickly, and now that the action finally ended the images returned. Blake, like Weiss and Yang, had managed to avoid acknowledging the events that transpired by busying herself with planning their next move. However, she could not keep it up forever, and knew that it was only a matter of time before her brain reminded her of everything.

Blake was not unfamiliar with death, but how long ago had it been since she last saw someone she knew die right before her eyes?

"You're too stiff, kitty cat," Yang whispered, draping an arm around Blake's chest. "It's over now; we're going to be alright."

"Yeah," Blake replied. She considered repeating Yang's words to make herself feel a little better, but they died at her throat.

"What's the matter?" Yang asked. "Cat got your tongue?"

"I swear, Yang," Blake scowled. "One of these days I'll shave your head for saying that."

"I'll regret it when the time comes," Yang replied cheekily.

Blake smiled – something she seemed to be doing a lot lately whenever Yang was around. It was a mysterious feeling, to be comforted by Yang and knowing that the blonde Huntress was there by her side.

"Thanks, Yang," she whispered softly. She was unsure if Yang heard those words, but judging by the tightened squeeze, there was hardly any doubt.

Repeating those words in her head, the proud member of Team RWBY and partner of Yang Xiao Long fell asleep.

She would worry about the future when it comes.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter, but it didn't feel right to bring in the action just yet. Besides, figured you guys could use a break and have some relationship building first. **

**And in case you found the current action scenes not intense enough, I'm working on them. It's just that there haven't been any actual foes that would pose a credible threat so far, which is why the fights aren't fleshed out in a lot of detail. Hope you bear with me.**

**As always, do leave a review, and until next chapter! **


	7. 07 - Atonement

**Welcome to chapter 7!**

**No spoilers in the reviews, please; wouldn't want new readers to know what happens too early, yeah?**

**With this chapter, the stage will finally be set. I know it took a long time, but here it is:**

* * *

"It would appear that they have freed Team JNPR."

Adam paid no attention to the speaker as he approached. Instead, he continued to stare at the map on the screen. The four blinking dots had disappeared some time ago, but it did not matter; they would not be able to escape very far with those wounded Defects as burdens anyway.

"I make no guarantees for live captures," he said, as the man stopped at a respectable distance away.

"Naturally," the man replied. "Why would you suggest thus?"

"I'm surprised," Adam said with faint interest in his callous voice. "I thought you were attached to them."

"Those who defy the ruler are inevitably struck down," the man answered. "It's only a natural outcome."

"Well said," Adam said flatly. "I see your intelligence is the real deal; unlike your staff, you know the right sides to take instead of wasting it on pointless rebellion."

"We humans live at your mercy," the main pointed out. "Why would we hasten our death by going against those who let us live?"

"See to it that the other vermin share your sentiments," Adam ordered. "Otherwise, you'll end up as the last surviving specimen of your species."

"Of course," the man said, giving Adam a bow.

"I have high hopes of you," Adam said, even though 'high hopes' for a Defect barely amounted to much. "Don't disappoint me… Ozpin."

* * *

Perched on the roof of a small building, the man called Pat took a swig from his bottle as he looked out into the distance. The sun was going to rise in about an hour, but he could not let his guard down just yet.

Before the White Fang attacked, he had been content with relaxing, having retired from his life as a mercenary. When he picked up Cardin, who had been on the verge of death, the kid had been utterly terrified. Now, the boy was a fighter, capable of taking care of himself. It might have been a good thing considering how Pat and the others had no time to be looking after him, but Pat knew that it was nothing to celebrate.

He was a kid. He was but a child, but he had seen far too much nonetheless. There was no need for him to live bathed in bloodshed, but he had been thrust ruthlessly into such a world. How could anyone rejoice in that fact?

He knew that Cardin was not only searching for revenge. He had seen many men go down with eyes flaring for that pointless sentiment. Cardin, for all the losses he had experienced, was also seeking salvation. Pat himself did not know what kind of salvation he sought, or what he wanted to be saved from, but he could only wish the kid luck; after all, the presence of a goal besides revenge gave him hope for redemption once the fighting stopped. If it ever stopped.

As though replying to his uncertainty, the rustling of leaves in the distance sounded. There was no wind, but the trees in the forest were still swaying.

"Guess we miscalculated," he wondered aloud, picking up a small microphone. "Guys, wake up. We've got company."

* * *

"Took them long enough," Blake heard Cardin say as he shoved them unceremoniously into a hidden cellar in the corner of the room. It was a tight fit, but all eight of Team JNPR' and RWBY's members managed to stuff themselves inside. "Stay here until I give the signal."

"We can fight-" Yang began.

"We're going to try and bluff them into leaving," Cardin said hurriedly. "If they think we're not harboring humans, we can keep them off our asses for a few days. Fighting won't do any good right now so shut up and wait."

With that he slammed the cellar door shut, and the next few seconds were spent listening to the sound of something heavy being dragged over the entrance.

"Cardin," Pat said, tossing him a pair of fake bear ears as he adjusted his own fake ears. "Tim and Andrew are going to the entrance. We're covering them from buildings B and C."

"Got it," Cardin replied, one hand on his weapon as he sprinted out after him.

* * *

"Hello, ma'am," the pseudo-monkey Faunus Tim greeted cheerily. "Isn't it a bit too early to be patrolling around the area?"

"We have prisoners on the loose," Velvet Scarlatina replied flatly. "And according to our intel, they're in this village."

"We don't harbor any prisoners here," Tim denied, looking shocked. "Why would we take after a bunch of lowly Defects or traitors?"

"I wonder," Velvet replied. "Maybe because you still have their stench on you."

Tim froze.

"We're familiar with the compound that some humans use to mask their scent," Velvet went on. "However, humans can't tell the difference since it works on the heightened senses of Faunus, so they wouldn't know that if you come into contact with a human after spraying it, the Dust in the spray reacts to their Aura as well and causes your original stench to return."

Tim and Andrew said nothing, their hands reaching slowly for the weapons hidden on their back, covered by their shirts.

"Raid it," Velvet ordered, closing her eyes.

Tim and Andrew only barely caught the figures emerging from the shadows before their headless bodies collapsed to the ground.

* * *

The cacophony of violence, no matter how muffled by the trapdoor, reached Jaune's ears. He tried to shut it out, but the horrifying noises refused to leave him alone.

It was worse than Beacon. At Beacon, he had been listening to the sounds of fighting. He had been listening to the sounds of resistance.

Now, he was listening to the sounds of a slaughter.

The blood-chilling screams were always fleeting, always erased before they could fade back into silence. The bellows, be they of fear or of rage, were silenced just as swiftly.

"Yang…" Ruby whined softly, clinging to her sister's arm. Jaune thought she was afraid, but when she spoke, her words made him feel like a coward. "We can't stay here. We have to help them…"

"I know, Ruby," Yang whispered. In the thick darkness of the cellar, Jaune could not see her expression, but her tone was not one filled with her usual jovial confidence. "Just wait a little more. We can't just bust in and die."

"We'll help," Jaune offered. "We don't have any weapons, but if we use our Aura-"

"No," Weiss shot him down instantly. "Once we do open this door, you guys are running. Weapons aside, you guys are all badly injured. One of us will escort you to our hideout and the rest of us will buy you time."

"You're guiding them, Weiss," Blake said. "You have a broken arm, so it's only logical."

"Fine, I get it," Weiss conceded after a pause. "But you guys are NOT running off without my glyphs with you."

"Understood," Yang replied, the confidence returning to her voice. "Alright gals, and guys," she added, and Jaune could feel it being directed at him and Ren. "Alright, there's someone walking here. Get ready to kick as- I mean, kick butts, fellas."

"Yang," Ruby sighed. "I know what 'ass' means."

"How'd you-?" Yang began, but the sound of something being dragged across the trapdoor stopped her. "We need to talk later, lil' sis."

With that, a loud burst of sound and light lit up the space as Yang let loose a devastating punch to the trapdoor.

As whatever remained of the trapdoor smashed into the White Fang soldier's face and slammed him back, the four girls of Team RWBY jumped out and Weiss summoned a series of glyphs under them.

"Come back safe, you guys," Weiss said, as the last glyph faded away.

"Don't fret, Weiss," Yang replied. "We'll take these guys out with a Yang and be back before you know it!"

Weiss groaned. Beckoning to Jaune and his team, she made for the door after her own teammates.

* * *

"Thought I told you to stay hidden," Cardin snarled, smashing his mace across a wolf Faunus's midsection.

"Couldn't be helped," Blake replied, disarming her opponent and slamming the flat end of her blade onto his head, knocking him out.

They were able to fend off most of the attackers, and it looked like they were finally nearing the end. Everyone had bruises and scratches here and there, but it was nothing compared to Cardin's friends who were undoubtedly no longer breathing. Blake could only wish that Ruby was too absorbed in fighting to notice.

"Guess you haven't lost it," a female voice deadpanned. A voice that was very familiar to both Blake and Cardin.

Letting go of Pat, whom she had been grabbing by the shirt, Velvet bent down and picked up his sword. Pat groaned, but he was unable to stop her from doing so.

"You have some skilled allies," Velvet said, looking directly at Cardin. "He was able to break my weapon. Oh well, he still lost in the end."

"Velvet?" Blake asked, unable to believe her eyes.

"Hello, Blake," she said tonelessly.

"Why?" Blake asked in open shock. "Why are you with-"

"Why am I with my own kind?" Velvet finished for her. "You should know why, Blake; it's the same reason why you joined the White Fang in the first place."

"Did Adam convince you?" Blake asked furiously.

"He opened my eyes, yes," Velvet replied. "I'm sorry, Blake, but I can't betray him. I have to eliminate you."

"Velv-" Blake began, but the rest of the sentence died at her throat with Velvet's newly acquired sword inches from her face, narrowly blocked by Gambol Shroud.

"Belladonna!" Cardin called out, but he was stuck dealing with some incoming soldiers.

With a flick of her wrist, Blake spun her blade to the side, pushing Velvet's sword out of the way and causing it to plummet towards the ground. She thrust her sheath towards Velvet's thighs, but the rabbit Faunus used the momentum from being deflected by Blake to leap into the air, performing a front flip axe kick.

Kicking off the ground hard, Blake evaded the kick, firing some bullets at Velvet as she attempted to regain her balance. Velvet deflected them with ease, closing the distance between them with a powerful leap.

Sparks flew again when metal struck metal, albeit briefly before they were withdrawn. In the next instant, they clashed again, sending off a sharp clang. Blake forced Velvet onto the defensive, hitting hard and fast while dual-wielding. Velvet, despite using someone else's weapon, managed to match her blow for blow even though she was slowly retreating.

Blake brought down her blade diagonally, her weapon parried easily by her former schoolmate. Instead of following up with another slash with her sheath, she swung the blade back up. While the move caught Velvet off guard, she was still able to block it. As Velvet tried forcing back her blade with brute strength, Blake brought down her sheath.

Pushing against Gambol Shroud, Velvet leapt backwards, narrowly missing the sheath as it tore off some fabric from her clothes. Blake advanced, kicking off towards her before breaking out of her feint and throwing her blade – now in its gun form – towards Velvet, propelled by a loud gunshot.

Velvet reacted an instant too late. Adjusting her stance to counter the thrown weapon instead of the anticipated physical charge, she only ended up feeling a distinct numbness in her hand after her sword was knocked away cleanly. Blake pulled the gun back with her ribbon, switching it back into its blade form as she walked towards an unarmed Velvet.

"This battle's over, Velvet," she declared. "Please, just give up."

"I forgot," Velvet panted. "You've been at this for far longer than I have. As expected from…"

The words that followed made Blake's blood run cold. Those words – the undeniable, horrifying truth that they reflected – clutched painfully at her chest, robbing her of any and all strength that she had possessed.

She knew. Velvet knew of that one shadow in Blake's past – the one thing that she wanted so desperately to forget, to deny. To hear those words from her lips made the world go silent, with nothing but the ghosts of bloodied screams ricocheting across the void.

As Blake collapsed to her knees, Velvet sprung up. Picking up the lance next to her, the bunny Faunus hesitated for only a moment.

"I'm sorry, Blake," she said, her voice a hushed whisper as she realized what she was about to do. Her hands trembling from summoning the strength needed to actually kill someone for the first time, Velvet brought the sharp tip down.

Blood scattered, staining the ground with little splatters. The wound was plugged up by the body of the lance, but the tip had already pierced through his body, breaking off parts of his armor.

Velvet took a few moments to register what had happened, and that gave Blake time to break out of her shock. When they both took in the scene, the Faunus girls' eyes did nothing but go wide in shock as their bodies froze.

"Damn…" Cardin muttered, a thin trail of blood trickling down his mouth. "That friggin' hurts."

"No…" Velvet muttered, letting go of the lance and backing away, falling onto her rear. "No… No…"

"I thought bunny girls were supposed to be docile," Cardin grimaced, walking towards a horrified Velvet as she tried to back away, yanking out the lance with great effort and tossing it aside. "Well, I guess this is payback for… pulling on your ears, huh?"

He chuckled – an action that drew a violent jet of blood from his lips. It did not, however, stop his shaky legs from dragging him forward.

"Run," he said, turning towards Blake as he stopped by Velvet's feet. He was powerless to stop her now, and she was certainly not in the right frame of mind to attack Blake, but his words still carried weight. "Say, Scarlatina. There's something I have to say, as the leader of Team CRDL and as a human:

"I'm sor-" he forced out, before his body finally gave way.

Cardin collapsed onto Velvet, unmoving as he slumped over her. Velvet was shaking terribly, unable to even push him off while his blood began to stain her clothes.

She had killed someone. She had, with her own hands, taken the life of someone else. Of all people, it was someone whom she had once saved.

"Blake!" Yang called out, dragging a dazed Blake with her while carrying Gambol Shroud in her other arm. "We're leaving! Come on!"

The unrelenting fires stretched endlessly towards the skies. The rumbling growl of frolicking flames thundered across the night, filling her eardrums with its jeering laughter.

As the rising sun set fire to the clouds, Velvet Scarlatina shattered the air with her throat-searing scream.

* * *

"So you let them all escape," Adam concluded. "You let _her _escape."

"… Yes," Velvet answered meekly. "I'm truly sorry for my failure."

"I thought you could have been better," Adam spoke his thoughts aloud, standing in front of her and staring into her eyes. "I thought that you could become what she became, except you wouldn't back out like she did."

Velvet buckled, wincing from the sharp pain in her gut. Adam removed his cold, emotionless eyes from her, looking past the rabbit Faunus as though she was not there. As though she had never existed to him.

"But in the end," Adam went on, talking to himself as he pulled out his sword. "You're just like she is."

In one fluid swing, he felt his weapon cut through the air, flinging away all traces of blood that had dirtied its blade. He sheathed it quickly and naturally, not even sparing a glance at Velvet's head as it tumbled across the tiles.

* * *

**Like I said, this sets the stage proper. Apologies for the short and lackluster battle; it's way below what I know I can do, but I hope the next one will be better. That said, I'm focusing on the emotional parts of the characters more than the actual battles, though I won't compromise the writing there either.**

**And with Ozpin, I will provide more characterization on him later. Please don't break my legs or set me on fire just over that first part.**

**Anyway, now Team RWBY and Team JNPR are up in the spotlight, and everything will finally begin proper! Till next chapter, dear readers!**


	8. 08 - Lighthouse

**Welcome to Chapter 8! **

**Sorry for taking so long with this one. But hey, now this story has a cover image, so… yeah.**

**Anyway, moving on:**

* * *

He watched halfheartedly as his men cleaned up the mess. The blood was still fresh, so it was relatively easy to wipe off, but the memory of that corpse would not be going away anytime soon.

Adam knew that Scarlatina was different. He knew that she was different from Blake. He knew that she was different from him. But he had gone and tried to turn her into another Blake anyway.

He had thought that he was alone. All those years, he had shouldered those emotions alone. He had endured the weight of that sin alone. He had turned it all into power, into ruthlessness, into rage, but he was ultimately alone. He knew that the world was cruel, and that regardless of his own pain the humans would continue to ostracize them. So he poured all his emotions and power into his body and weapon, and bared his fangs dripping with hatred towards the humans.

But even then, he stood alone. He wandered endlessly in the darkness, bathed in the blood of vanquished enemies and fallen allies alike. He had all but resigned himself to that darkness, until he met her.

He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was different. He could see the fear and despair etched in her amber irises, swallowed up by the madness of her inner demons. He was sure that they were similar monsters, and that she could understand his pain. Or perhaps, he had wanted that to be true.

He decided to see things through for himself. If fate pitied him and decided to grant him that reprieve, he would take it all too willingly. If it meant that he no longer had to be wandering, lost in suffering and confusion, Adam was willing to take her under his wing.

In the years he trained Blake, she had indeed become everything that he hoped for. No, she might have even become better than that. She had a talent for combat, and her earnest wish for Faunus to be treated better was true. She was a valuable ally to have, and he had been sure that they could have taken on anything the humans could throw at them.

When she finally told him that secret which had been buried deep within her memory, a part of him felt happy. It had been something horrifying – something unbelievably vile, even – but he did not mind. Why would he mind, when he had just found someone uncannily similar to himself? When he had been guilty of the same sin?

Even if it was for a short while, the loneliness dissipated. For Adam, who had been drowning in it since the day he plunged his hands in blood, it was an unfamiliar experience. Walking alone in the shadows had been excruciating, but when he discovered that there was someone else to trudge across it with him, he had felt liberated. That feeling, which felt so nostalgic it was almost unreal, might have pulled him back from the abyss.

When she betrayed him, he could only stand and watch.

He knew why he did not pursue her. Given his ability, he could have easily leapt onto the platform where she was at after she cut the links between the carriages. Despite being aware of that, he had not moved. He knew that it was foolish to just stand and stare, but he also knew that his legs would not have obeyed him then anyway.

Grief? Anger? Disbelief? Which was it that had rooted his limbs to the platform, forcing him to watch her fade into the distance? Was he even capable of harboring such emotions? If not, when had his control slackened?

Perhaps it had been foolish to have expected something out of this cruel world. Perhaps it was stupid to believe that he was not alone. Perhaps it was weak to be swayed by emotions. But Adam did not care.

As he watched the henchmen drag away Velvet Scarlatina's corpse, he felt nothing. Cold, firm control – that was what he had been lacking when he had foolishly decided to become Blake's mentor. Now that he had regained it, he could not be stopped anymore.

Unasked questions would remain unasked, and they would ultimately be unanswered for the rest of his life, for he was no longer interested in knowing. He was done seeking answers, and he was through with pointless companionship. He had stared into the abyss for so long that such meaningless sentiments would never catch his gaze. How had he forgotten that?

With a seething, roaring rage erupting from within his chest, Adam Taurus clenched his fists. Her betrayal had shown him quite clearly who he was always meant to be, but he could not forgive the pain he suffered in losing her nonetheless. He could not forgive knowing what it meant to not be alone, right before being thrust back into solitude. He could not forgive the existence of Blake Belladonna.

"You're next, Blake," he whispered, and the shadows around him recoiled at the tone in which he had hissed the name.

* * *

Blake inhaled, momentarily forgetting that her face was in direct contact with the ground. Mud and dirt shot up her nostrils, instantly bringing her back to reality as she sat up trying to get them out.

"Blake? What's wrong?" Yang asked, kneeling down next to her. They were already safe, having surely lost any pursuers after running around for so long, and it was time to return to their hideout. However, Blake was acting way too strange, tripping and falling despite not being physically injured. "That's the fifth time you've tripped since we left! Are you hurt or something?"

"I-I'm fine," Blake replied, still choking a little as she wiped her nose with as much dignity as she could muster. "Let's keep moving."

"Are you worried about leaving Cardin and the others back there?" Yang asked softly. Her tone was so gentle it actually startled Blake. "There wasn't anything we could have done, Blake. You know that."

"I know," Blake managed between shaky gasps as she got to her feet. "I know, Yang. I'll be fine. Trust me."

"That's not what's worrying you, is it?"

Blake felt her blood run cold. How did Yang know? Did she overhear Velvet's words? What would she do if-

"Look at me, Blake," Yang said gently.

Even though her voice was gentle, and it sounded more like a request than an order, Yang's words had a strange hypnotic charm to them. Without understanding why, Blake felt herself raising her head and staring into those dazzling lilac eyes.

"I've been your partner back in Beacon," Yang said. "I'm still your partner even now. I know when something's bothering you. You don't have to say anything, but-"

"What do you know?" Blake hissed. "What could you possibly know about me?"

Yang Xiao Long was a human. Not only that, she was also a girl. Even if she could call herself a Huntress, and even if she could hold her own against people like Torchwick and possibly some of the upper echelon of the White Fang, she was ultimately still a girl. She had never seen the horrors which Blake had seen. She had never once bore witness to the tragedies that Blake had wrought with her own hands. How could she possibly hope to understand?

"Do you know what I've done?" she asked in a low, dangerous tone. Yang just stood there, listening as her own face openly displayed her confusion and concern. "Do you know what I'm capable of? Don't act as if you know just because you've been with me for some time. You couldn't possibly know. You couldn't possibly understand."

"You're right," Yang conceded. "I'm not you, so I can't know everything about you. But it doesn't mean I can't tell that you're being haunted by something you want to hide. It's related to what you confessed to me that night, isn't it?"

It was. Blake's bloodlust – her deranged sadism – had come from that one incident which she had not told even Yang. She had thought that only Adam knew about it, but when she found out that Velvet knew as well, it erupted in her mind with horrible clarity. There was no way those images would simply go away this time, and Blake could even hear the screams in every waking moment.

"You don't have to tell me everything," Yang said. "But I want you to know that I'm here for you. And it's not just me, either; all of us are here for you. You don't have to suffer like this alone, Blake."

"How can you say that…?" Blake asked, her voice hoarse as she felt her lips trembling with the effort to form words. "How can you be fine with that, when you have no idea what I am…?"

With a dull sound, Gambol Shroud tumbled to the ground next to her. Looking up in surprise, Blake found Yang standing in the same neutral position as before, with her arms resting at her sides.

"Because I believe in you," she said resolutely. "Like I told you before, you can't call yourself a monster if you care enough to hold back. If I'm wrong, then I'll lose my head right here, right now."

She wanted to pick up that weapon and swing it at her, stopping short inches before touching flesh. She wanted to see that her resolve was nothing but words – nothing but lies – but Blake did not budge. She had been Yang's partner for just as long, and she was well aware of that look in the blonde's eyes. She was familiar with the raging flames that burned in them when she was willing to give her life for her friends. She was willing to put her life on the line for Blake, even though she had no idea what skeletons lurked in her closet. Even though Blake was a killer.

"Damn it, Yang…" Blake muttered, falling to her knees. She did not deserve such warmth and kindness, much less from a human. So why did she have to be in the midst of it? How did she end up proving Yang's point twice thus far? "Damn it…"

"Come on, kitty cat," Yang said, resting a hand on her shoulder and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "Let's head back to the others now."

Blake nodded reluctantly. She knew that she did not deserve any of this, but if she could, she would hold on to it for as long as it would last.

* * *

"You're back!" Ruby screamed enthusiastically, clinging on to Yang and Blake like a koala. "What on Remnant took you guys so long?!"

"No enemies detected," Weiss announced, setting up some more glyphs just in case. Watching them disappear into the air, she turned to the two of them. "Looks like you managed to give them the slip."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Yang asked cheekily, half-choked by her sister's frontal glomp. "Huh, the ol' cave seems a lot more cramped now, doesn't it?"

"Glad that you're all in one piece," Jaune said from next to the bed where Pyrrha rested. "Where're Cardin and the rest?"

"He…" Yang trailed off, casting a sideways glance at Blake, who looked downcast again.

"He died protecting me," Blake stated plainly, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. A heavy silence instantly descended, drowning out the slightly uplifting mood. "Velvet killed him."

"Wait; Velvet?" Weiss asked incredulously. "The rabbit Faunus from Team CFVY? _Our _Velvet?"

"Yes," Blake nodded. Ruby let go of them, standing in front of her with a hurt expression on her face. "That Velvet."

"Did you have to fight her?" Ruby asked. Wordlessly, Blake nodded. "It must have been painful. Are you alright?"

Blake jumped. She had not expected Ruby to say that after hearing Velvet had just killed someone. Granted, hearing about something, no matter how terrible, was nowhere as horrible as experiencing it firsthand, but she had expected Ruby to start crying or something similar. She did not been expecting her to show concern over her teammate's wellbeing.

"I-I'm fine, Ruby," she managed, looking away from those large, silver eyes. Ruby's innocence was so out of place with the world right now that it was painful to even look at her. "I'm just a little tired from all the running, that's all."

"I can't believe that Velvet would do something like that," Weiss muttered, staring holes into the table in front of her. "I just can't believe it…"

"Me neither," Jaune added. "That'll be one more thing to ask her when we save her, right?"

The girls of Team RWBY turned to look at Jaune curiously, while the other members of Team JNPR merely smiled; that was their leader alright.

"What?" Jaune asked nervously. He had never been someone comfortable with getting a lot of attention, even from those he knew. "I-I mean, come on! It's Velvet we're talking about! There's no way she would've done all that because she wanted to! When we rescue her from the White Fang, we'll get our answers; isn't that the logical thing to do?"

"A-greed~!" Nora chipped in, groaning a little from the effort. Ren instantly pushed her back onto the bed, but she dragged him along with her and clung on to him like a giant plushie.

"I see it's a thing for our leaders to be hopelessly optimistic," Weiss wondered aloud, receiving a pout from Ruby. "But you're right; maybe she was extorted or something. We'll clarify it when we take down the White Fang."

"Right!" Jaune said happily, elated that Weiss had just agreed with him. "Until then, let's rest up in this… um… cave? What's the name of this place?"

"Um…" Yang stuttered, looking to Blake and Weiss who both shook their heads.

"The RWBY Cave!" Ruby declared instantly. "Oh, wait. It's the RWBY and JNPR Cave now, isn't it?"

"Too long," Weiss complained. "And it's boring."

"Who would've thought Professor Ozpin's naming sense would come in handy at times like this?" Yang said aloud. She was hardly in the mood for coming up with names, but if it kept everyone from thinking about more depressing things, then she would by all means invest unneeded time into this. "How about… the Second Beacon?"

"You're sisters alright," Weiss mumbled, rolling her eyes. Ruby puffed out her cheeks angrily and stared at Weiss to express her displeasure, but all it did was make Weiss blush and turn away.

"How about the HQ?" Pyrrha suggested from her bed. "It's our base, after all."

"We need something more epic!" Ruby declared. "We need something inspirational, like the Room of Mysteries or the Batca-"

"Don't go any further, sis," Yang warned. "I get the feeling something very bad will happen if you cross that line."

"What?" Ruby asked innocently. "We're discussing this in secret while in a cave! It's not as if someone is listening in on this conversation or if it's being typed out and people are reading about it right now, so why not?"

"How about the Lighthouse?" Jaune said suddenly, once again drawing all eyes onto him. "W-well, you know, we're students of Beacon, and we're fighting for humanity and all that, right? Lighthouses were meant to guide ships in the past, like a beacon and… well… Because we're a ray of hope for people, so I figured it'd be cool and…"

"That," Yang pointed out. "Was the most clichéd thing I have ever heard in my life."

"Agreed," Weiss nodded.

"Same here," Nora replied, prompting Ren to nod.

"Wow, Jaune," Ruby said. "I knew you were a sappy guy, but I didn't think you'd say something so embarrassing."

Jaune, while doing his best impression of a ripe tomato with his face, turned to his last source of help – Pyrrha, who was clutching her stomach in an attempt to reduce the pain from laughing so much. Utterly betrayed, the leader of Team JNPR hung his head in shame.

"Well, it's better than what Ruby had in mind at least," Yang said, shrugging. "We could go with that, can't we?"

"So 'Lighthouse' it is, then?" Ruby asked. "I liked 'RWBY cave more though…"

"How fitting," Weiss added. "Our lighthouse is in a cave. At the foot of a mountain. With a covered entrance hiding from enemies. But sure, why not? Let's shine a light and tell them to come."

"Aww, you know you actually like it, Weiss!" Ruby teased, wrapping her arms around the white-haired heiress.

"N-no I don't, and get off me!" Weiss tried pushing her off with one hand, but Ruby would not relinquish her hold. "Get off me at once, Ruby Rose!"

Everyone laughed. Momentarily forgetting about the battlefield that they had narrowly escaped from, they laughed together for the first time since Beacon. For the first time in what felt like years, they laughed like the children they were. And that was the last time Weiss could recall Jaune laughing along with them.

She could not blame him. When she found out about Cardin' and Velvet's bodies being lined up next to the rest of Team CRDL on the Beacon Tower, she too knew that she could never laugh like that again.

* * *

He watched the bodies hang. He watched as her head was crudely stitched together for the sake of proving her identity, and then as it was dangled from the tower next to young Winchester's corpse.

When he heard the guards complaining about how the carcasses reeked, he wanted to murder them. He wanted to tear them limb from limb, just so they could know a modicum of his rage.

He had seen many corpses before, be they of humans or Faunus, of enemies or of allies. He had braved countless battles and faced numerous outrageous situations, but this was something he could not bear to see.

They were children. They were the ones who would eventually lead the world in the right direction. They were the people who would protect this world, driving back the monsters that would do it harm. He was supposed to have helped them find their purpose, but instead he was here, groveling like a dog before their enemies. The one who should have died, more than anyone else, was him.

Gritting his teeth, Ozpin tore his eyes away from the gruesome image before him. He knew that apologies were pointless, but he could not help repeating them in his head like a desperate prayer.

"Ozpin," a soldier – no, a former student – called out. "We have a disturbance. You are to assist in the elimination of the enemies at once."

"Why do they need me?" Ozpin asked lightly, masking the cold fury that sat like bile in his chest. "If it's just enemy forces-"

"Amongst the enemies in question are the former staff of Beacon," the soldier replied. "Adam's giving you a chance to prove your worth by dealing with the situation."

"So I'm to either convince them or kill them?" Ozpin asked. He refrained from looking into the soldier's eyes, but he was sure that he had picked up on the hostility in his eyes regardless.

"Yes," Sun replied. "He's watching, so don't screw up, Ozpin."

"I understand," Ozpin replied. If Sun was supposed to be an ally, then he was doing a great job hiding it. "I shall go at once."

He hated the White Fang. He despised their methods. He loathed the Collar around his neck. He hated the fact that he had let so many die. But more than anything, he hated himself for bowing down to them because he was too weak to do anything about it.

He was a man of power, a man of action. But now, even he prayed earnestly for the nightmare to end. Even if his soul were to burn in the deepest parts of hell for that, he continued to beg the heavens for a miracle.

Behind the callous pieces of glass that hid the windows to his soul, two warm streams blazed down his cheeks.

* * *

**In case anyone was wondering, the Faunus (well, the White Fang mostly) refer to human corpses as 'carcasses'. It's not a typo error. Just thought you should know.**

**And no, I'm not going to write any sex. I rated this one M because of swearing, just so it's out there.**

**Till next chapter, then!**


	9. 09 - Farewell, my Friend

**Welcome to chapter 9! Believe it or not, this chapter was difficult to write. I realize I'm a terrible man for doing this stuff to the characters. But I'll persevere. Hopefully it's all more emotional rather than sadistic to the readers; I'm not killing them off because it's fun to, if that's what you're wondering.**

**Moving along…**

* * *

"Yang! Lemme go! Lemme goooo!"

Ren woke to the sounds of a girl pleading earnestly. It almost made him want to pounce at the attackers but as his eyes snapped open those hostile thoughts began to feel increasingly foolish.

"Please lemme go, Nora!" Ruby begged, while her sister hoisted her up by the armpits while Nora held her by the ankles, lifting her body off the ground. "Don't partake in this madness!"

"Aww, but this is too fun!" Nora grinned toothily. If not for the bandages and bruises on her body and face, she would have looked dazzling as usual. Not that she looked any less beautiful now.

"Answer honestly, lil' sis!" Yang ordered, messing up Ruby's hair. "Where did you learn the word 'ass'?"

"I-I didn't!" Ruby lied. If her tone was not proof enough, her expression was a dead giveaway. "I have no idea what that means!"

"I see Ruby's inability to lie hasn't changed," Pyrrha said lightly from the kitchen corner.

"Ruby," Yang said ominously. "Do you want to know what happens if I don't get my answers?"

Ren had no idea Ruby Rose could ever gulp in fear like that.

"Y-Yang…" she said shakily. "Y-you wouldn't… We're not back home right now! Everyone's here! Y-you wouldn't!"

"Oh, I would," Yang replied. "But first, an appetizer. Nora! Proceed!"

"Aye aye!" Nora replied, removing Ruby's shoes and tickling her feet.

"They've been at it all morning," Jaune said as Ruby struggled in vain, laughing while begging them to stop. "You feel any better?"

Ren nodded, accepting the cup of water from his leader.

"I can't believe you slept through all that," Jaune said, watching as Yang called for reinforcements. "You must have stayed up all night looking after Nora, right?"

"She's laughing," Ren said, wearing one of his rare smiles.

"Yeah, she is," Jaune agreed, smiling contentedly. "It makes all that waiting worthwhile doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does," Ren replied. He jumped when he heard Jaune gasp. "W-what's wrong, Jaune?"

"You're smiling," the blonde said, his eyes wide with shock. Judging from expression alone, he might have been looking at an extraterrestrial. Or a Grimm wearing Glynda Goodwitch's clothes. "And we're actually having a conversation that's not one-sided."

The rest of the room seemed to have picked up on the atmosphere, and was now collectively staring at a very perplexed Ren.

"Who are you and what have to done to the real Le-Ren?" Jaune asked menacingly, biting his tongue from talking too fast.

"Quick, I need a camera!" Nora exclaimed, letting of Ruby's legs. "Bring me a camera at once!"

"I'll freeze him while you look," Weiss offered, pulling out Myrtenaster. "At least that expression will be preserved."

"Jaune!" Yang called out. "Grab him!"

Ren wondered why he did not smile more before. When he looked at Nora's beaming expression, along with the radiant smiles on everyone's faces, he could not help but want to join in. For some reason, it felt really liberating to express himself that way.

For the first time since forever, Lie Ren laughed. To him, it was also the last time he remembered laughing at all.

* * *

The silence was heavy and painful, enveloping the space with its overbearing presence. Occasionally, the meek crackling of vermillion flames would keep it at bay, burning helplessly against the sinking despair it carried.

No one said a word. No one could even utter a sound. All they could do was stare, transfixed, at the simple objects in front of them. The objects, common as they were, were also dreadful in their eloquence, painting unimaginable images in the children's minds.

Team RWBY had ransacked several different camps and storage facilities in search of Team JNPR's weapons. It was no easy task, but they managed to pull it off swiftly enough within a matter of days, which had been a cause for celebration. The reason why everyone was instead seated around the small table with pale faces and haunted expressions was the presence of two photographs.

Team RWBY's contacts, who had been loitering around Beacon, managed to take those pictures and passed them to the girls with a declaration that they were finally done; after seeing the new bodies, they were no longer willing to risk their lives like this anymore. Truthfully, none of the eight children felt like fighting any further either after seeing those photos.

They were slightly blurry, having been taken from a distance, but they managed to capture the bodies of Cardin Winchester and Velvet Scarlatina respectively. Hung from the tower as their clothes were horribly ripped and stained with blood, their bodies bore the countless marks of violence and pain. Even though the photos were unclear, the gruesome details were nonetheless horrible to behold, even without considering the possibility that the wounds were inflicted before death. As much as everyone wanted to tear their eyes away from them, they were frozen in place without an ounce of strength to even do something so simple. Even though they were trained to fight monsters, their own swelling emotions prevented them from even ripping apart two normal photos.

A soft sound to her right broke Weiss out of her trance. Turning slowly, she saw her leader – that usually cheerful, hardworking dolt – on her knees, shaking violently. Even though it was only to be expected, the sight still clawed viciously at Weiss's chest.

"Ru-" Yang began, but Weiss beat her to it, wrapping her arms around the younger girl from behind her.

"Ruby," she said forcefully, even though her voice was shaky from her own fear. Her left arm hurt, but she did not care. "I want you to listen to me right now, okay?"

Ruby did not respond. Instead, she continued trembling, occasionally murmuring something sounding like 'it can't be'. Those words, filled with a shock and hurt that Weiss had only ever experienced twice before, unleashed a cold, suffocating grip on the heiress's heart.

"Don't think about it," she commanded, even though it sounded more like she was pleading.

"Why…?" Ruby whispered, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. "Why…?"

Weiss knew that Ruby was different. She was not only two years younger, but she had been protected by Yang even after entering Beacon. Even after the White Fang attack, the rest of her team had tried their best to keep Ruby from seeing more than she needed to. While as a result, she was able to avoid reality all this time, it could not last forever.

It may have been mercy from the heavens that Ruby had yet to encounter a situation where she had to kill someone. It may have been relatively lucky that she had seen Cardin' and Velvet's bodies through a picture while safe in their hideout rather than see them murdered during the heat of battle. However, it did nothing to change the fact that they were dead. It did nothing to erase the reality that Ruby was forcibly thrust into.

"Please," Weiss begged. Even if it made her sound weak in front of the others, she did not care; right now, her priority was to calm Ruby down, not to maintain her stubborn pride. "Just listen to me right now."

"W-Weiss?" Ruby jumped. She had never heard Weiss talk like that before, and it made her sound like she was actually scared for once. The mere thought of it unnerved Ruby even more than the photos had.

"Don't think about it," Weiss repeated. "Focus on our mission. Do you remember what it is?"

"Yes…" Ruby replied timidly, obeying her teammate's words. "We have to… defeat the White Fang…"

"That's right," Weiss nodded. "Just focus solely on that objective. Can you do that?"

Silently, Ruby nodded. Weiss let her go with that, even though there was one thing the heiress was sure of: her leader's inability to lie was still the same as ever.

* * *

Weiss Schnee may not have been perfect – not yet – but she was seldom wrong. When it came to reading her simple-minded team leader like an open book, she was probably second to Yang.

"It's still on your mind, isn't it?" she asked softly, approaching the tunnel's one and only entrance/exit. The boulder blocking the entrance had yet to be moved, and a solitary figure stood right before it.

"I thought it'd be Yang who would come," Ruby said with a bitter smile on her face.

"I talked them into letting me come," Weiss replied.

"Am I that bad at lying, even without saying a word?" Ruby asked.

"Well, you're a dolt after all," Weiss shrugged. Then, dropping all pretense, she continued. "You're going to retrieve their bodies, aren't you?"

"What else can I do?" Ruby asked, trembling from the effort of holding back her tears. "I don't know what else to do…"

It was only natural. It was her first time losing someone she knew after all. However, even though Weiss accepted that fact, she could not simply let Ruby walk off into her own death like that.

"They can't be dead," Ruby murmured. "It must be a bad joke, or a mistake. It is, isn't it, Weiss?"

"Ruby…"

"You can tell me it's not true, right?" Ruby begged, her smile breaking apart as her tears began to surface along the edge of her eyes. "You're a better liar than I am, and I'm a dolt, so you can fool me easily, right?"

Weiss could not reply. Even if it was Ruby's personal request, how could she ever be expected to lie to a face like that?

"Velvet and Cardin… are dead, aren't they?" Ruby asked at last. Any trace of strength that had once resided in her silver eyes was now completely absent, instead replaced by the frightened glimmer of a terrified child's tears. "They're not coming back, are they?"

Weiss said nothing, instead opting for walking towards her leader in controlled strides. Ruby did nothing to stop her advance, listening to the echoes of Weiss's lady stilts as they met the ground sharply with every step. She tried searching for anything – be it reassurance or anger – reflected on Weiss's face, but the heiress's expression was a resolute blank.

Without warning, Weiss wrapped her arms around Ruby again, this time from the front. Ruby's eyes widened in surprise, but she did and said nothing to deter Weiss or reject her warmth. However, she did not return the gesture either.

"I was scared," Weiss admitted, her voice soft in a whisper but loud and clear to Ruby's ears. "When I saw the photos, I was so scared I couldn't breathe. I didn't want it to be true either, but the more I looked at them hoping to see something else, the clearer it became that they were really dead."

Ruby lapsed into a stunned silence, listening to her usually cool and collected teammate speak. That captivating voice, which had sung countless exquisite songs for their sake, was now riddled with sorrow. It almost did not feel like Weiss's voice at all.

"Three days after the White Fang attack, I considered killing myself," Weiss admitted, drawing a gasp from Ruby. "Just listen," she added as Ruby stuttered trying to say something. "I tried reaching my family, but no one picked up. I was hesitant to check things out for myself, but the information found its way to me soon enough. Yang and Blake probably didn't tell you this, but my house was burned down and the SDC main building was blown up.

"They didn't find any survivors," Weiss continued, forcing down the bile that had been starting to rise up her throat. "I don't know if anyone managed to escape in time, but all the corpses were unidentifiable. The only ones left recognizable were the ones they captured and tortured to death, and amongst them was my sister."

Ruby stopped holding back her tears, letting their heat crawl down her cheeks and onto Weiss's clothes. All this time, without knowing about anything, she had gone on with her stupid optimism about finding their families and saving them. How much had she hurt Weiss by repeating those impossible hopes over and over again every day?

"I saw her body being displayed in the center of Vale," Weiss went on, her grief causing her voice to crack occasionally. "I don't know what they did to her, and I don't even want to imagine, but even after death they continued to violate her image… they continued to tarnish her beauty…

"I wanted to take my own life back then," Weiss confessed. "I didn't want to admit that she was gone, but when I finally accepted that fact, I didn't want to live anymore. My left hand was hurt, so I couldn't really point Myrtenaster at my own neck properly, so I thought maybe I could charge into an enemy stronghold and die that way. Then I remembered you guys."

Weiss tightened her hug, even though she could only use her right hand. Ruby, who was still in too much shock, let her arms hang limply at her sides.

"Blake and Yang talked me out of it when I told them," Weiss went on. "Yang was a little more… straightforward though; she said she'd kill me if I did that. To be honest, I had already given up dying by the time I told them. I figured if the deaths of everyone I knew were so painful to me, I couldn't let those around me who were still alive suffer like that. I didn't want you guys to experience the same pain. I'm a part of Team RWBY, and you're my friends; I don't want to have to put you through all that.

"You guys are all I have left," Weiss sobbed. "I don't care about fame or fortune; I just want to have people I care about with me. I lost my family, my friends at Beacon, and you guys are the only people I have left right now. So please, Ruby… Don't go anywhere. I've lost almost everyone; I don't want to lose you too."

Ruby froze. She was not the kind of person to only care about herself, and in order to live up to expectations she had made efforts to look out for her team. She could tell when they were troubled, and she had offered help whenever her abilities allowed her to, but what was this? How had she missed all this that Weiss had been forced to go through? How could she, as the leader, wallow in denial when her teammates were fighting against a reality far worse than her own? How could she have failed to notice her closest friend and partner suffering this much?

"I'm sorry…" she muttered, her hands slowly finding their way to Weiss's waist and back, giving her a firm squeeze. "I'm sorry, Weiss…"

She was not a good liar. She was not even remotely close to being able to lie competently. That was why, as she embraced her partner, Ruby Rose's words were honest. Her promise – her earnest wish – held no pretense or sarcasm, and was equal parts for Weiss, for Yang, for Blake as well as for herself:

"I won't go anywhere, so please don't leave me."

* * *

"What is this farce?!"

He spoke quickly – far too quickly for his enemies to pick up individual words. Not paying them the least bit of heed, he took a swig from the giant thermos in his arms. Given how the thermos substituted as a club and flamethrower at the same time, he could see why some of his past students came up with the joke that he drank raw fuel instead of coffee. Yet, even though he could solve such perplexing puzzles, he could not understand the situation.

"This is truly infuriating!" he spoke slower this time, reducing his pace to that of the rate a submachine gun fired its bullets. "Would you be suggesting that in order to battle one of the best Huntsmen that Beacon has to offer, you only send mere scouts who cannot hold their own against even this small of a resistance force?! I find it difficult to believe that you would underestimate us like this but if this is your true worth then – you!"

Moving at a low enough speed to rival a fired bullet, Oobleck knocked the gun out of the soldier's hand before the trigger could be pulled in one swift swing.

"When your opponent is in the middle of a rant you should be stealthy with your approach!" Oobleck reprimanded. "If it's an opponent who has beaten you in a face-to-face battle, then all the more so! Why are you making so much noise in your attempt to shoot me?!"

"I see your instincts as a teacher have not left you."

Knocking the White Fang soldier unconscious with the least amount of pain possible, Oobleck turned to the incoming adversary with an unreadable expression behind his glasses. Not that it mattered, since said adversary also wore glasses to hide the look on his own face.

"I was right to have asked you to come and teach at Beacon," Ozpin said, offering a fraction of a smile.

"So I see the rumors were true," Oobleck stated flatly, glaring at the Collar on Ozpin's neck.

"I'm afraid they are," Ozpin agreed solemnly.

"I see," Oobleck went silent for a few minutes, before finally setting his weapon on the ground. "Well then, this is where we must part."

"Is there-" Ozpin began, but the futility of that question made him stop.

"I see you understand," Oobleck smiled. "You and I are not that different, after all."

Nothing more was spoken, but in their gaze alone, much was said with an uncanny eloquence. Whether it was Ozpin's unsaid pleas, or Oobleck's adamant refusal – everything was conveyed in a few short moments.

"I became a Huntsman because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be," Oobleck said. "I wish to save the people, and prevent the mistakes which have already claimed countless lives from occurring ever again. I wish to save the world, but I will never bow down to the enemy for an illusion of peace.

"I've always admired you," Oobleck admitted. "You've made more mistakes than anyone, but you've accomplished countless great things despite those failures. Your existence alone proves that it's possible to overcome any setback and still prevail in the end. That is why I will not refute your actions, even if I cannot agree with them; I am not intelligent enough to comprehend your thoughts or brave enough to endure everything you can after all."

Ozpin did not speak. He knew where this was headed, and he was well aware that Oobleck knew as well. If neither side was willing to compromise, then there was only one way out of this situation. For Ozpin, simply letting the insurgents go would spell an obvious end, and Oobleck naturally knew that as well. That was why he was not running; the man before him was giving Ozpin enough time to settle his own resolve to do what must be done.

"That's why," Oobleck went on. "While as a Huntsman and a defender of humanity, I cannot agree with your methods, I still think you are right, both as a comrade and as a friend. Conflicts and battles occur not because one side is wrong, but because both sides are right, do they not? So what you're doing is correct, my friend.

"What do you see when you look at this battlefield?" he asked, gesturing to the wasteland that the battle had created, littered with bodies of friends and foes alike. All the survivors – be they human or Faunus – had already fled the scene of mindless violence, leaving a desolate space of death. "I see the repeat of a terrible mistake: discrimination. We forced their hand in the past, and now this is our punishment. Our resentment led to uprisings, and by extension more conflicts in the name of humanity. How is that different from Faunus taking arms and demanding equal treatment from the humans? The way to break this never-ending cycle of violence lies not with more violence. You realize that, do you not?"

Ozpin nodded silently, his eyes staring resolutely at the ground. It was precisely because he realized and accepted it that he had chosen this path. Oobleck placed a firm hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up once more. Despite the air reeking of death and despair, filling the space with their rancid stench, the former History professor smiled.

"Alas, I am weak," he said. "Therefore, I cannot endure it with you. You're a great man, and I believe that you are capable of enduring it alone. I understand what you must do, but I still cannot go with you. However, even if I cannot abandon my sense of justice for you, I will stand by you through your decisions; I am willing to lay down my life for humanity, and I am willing to entrust my life and hope to you – the man I have absolute faith in."

His body jerked for just a split second, but he did not remove his hand or let that smile slide off his face. The pain was nothing compared to the suffering others had to endure, and less than nothing compared to the pain experienced by the man in front of him.

"I apologize for forcing you to bear all the harshness and suffering alone," he said, as the circle of dark crimson spread slowly across his chest. Ozpin had missed the heart, and probably not on purpose either; his hand had been shaking terribly as he thrust the knife forward. "You are in the right, so do not waver. Remain steadfast in your beliefs, and stay strong. Stay strong, Headmaster."

His vision began to fade, and a thin line of crimson seeped down from the edge of his mouth. He could not move all of a sudden, and he found it odd that he could no longer hear the rustling of grass even though he was standing on a large patch of it.

"Farewell, my Friend."

Listening to the ghostly echo of those words, Ozpin stood alone amidst the death and destruction.


	10. 10 - The Inevitable

**Welcome to Chapter 10! I'd like to thank Anonymous Reading for raising a point about the characters in his review of the previous chapter, and I figured I should address it here too:**

**For Ruby, she is still a skilled fighter, but in this story the fighting won't be that often given the setting. In the meantime, her development mostly comes from her young age, and in the absence of fighting she becomes the innocence of the cast. They're all kids thrust into a world of chaos, after all. Of course, it's not going to be that obvious now, but I hope it'll become clearer as I flesh out her character later on in the story.**

**Hope that cleared some things up, and if not, feel free to leave a review or send me a PM with your questions! Until then, here's what you came for:**

* * *

"So it would appear you resolved the matter," Adam said flatly. "There are no survivors, I believe?"

"Unfortunately, only their commander remained when I arrived on scene," Ozpin reported. "I was unable to convince him of the error of his ways, so I eliminated him."

"Very well," Adam replied. "Is there anything else you have to say?"

"Yes," Ozpin answered. "Regarding my request…"

"Ah, yes," Adam said, as though he had just remembered something trivial. "Very well. Your results are satisfactory to say the least, so I suppose a reward is in order."

Typing lazily on the keyboard in front of him, Adam spoke without a modicum of interest to the Defect before him.

"I will release a small number of Defects from the concentration camps as promised," he said. "However, their backgrounds will be checked thoroughly and only those who possess no threat to our cause will be released. Naturally, their Collars will not be removed either. You understand that, do you not?"

"Of course," Ozpin replied. "Thank you for your generosity."

His chest burned with white-hot fury, but he held it back. Even if it was small, he had managed to make progress. Letting his emotion get the better of him here would only backfire. Above all, it would dishonor the name of the valiant man who had entrusted him with his life.

"I shall take my leave," he said, the anger flaring in his eyes. Even if he sought a future of equality, a future without violence, he could not erase his own hostility.

He could not help but want to make them all pay with their blood.

* * *

He tried catching his breath as he crashed violently into the ground, but his enemy did not grant him that luxury. Rolling out of the way just in the nick of time, Jaune scrambled to his feet as his opponent's weapon cut deeply into the ground.

If he took another hit, he was done for. Rather than charging in blindly, his best course of action was to observe, defend and counter. However, that was easier said than done with his opponent's speed.

Bringing up his trusty shield – finally reunited after all this time – Jaune felt his arm go numb at the impact, barely able to withstand the force. He had bested Grimm before, but this was just ridiculous.

He felt the weight shift. His opponent was using Jaune's raised shield to escape his line of sight, while pivoting around him to hit him from behind. Jaune had forgotten to take into account the difference in their weapon characteristics. Regardless, he was not going to let it end like this.

Charging forward, albeit a little crudely, he threw off his opponent's balance and spun around, thrusting his sword forward. It hit the enemy in the shoulder, but did not pierce through due to Aura. Satisfied with that result, Jaune attempted to put some distance between them with a backwards leap-

A loud gunshot broke his train of thought, and the impact from taking the bullet sent him flying back further than anticipated. Falling on his rear, Jaune groaned and lay on his back, letting go of his weapons.

There was no need to check his Scroll. With a precise shot like that, there was no way his Aura levels would not drop into the red zone.

"Dang, should've seen that one coming," he said aloud, sitting up and dusting off his clothes. "Nice one, Ruby."

Folding Crescent Rose back into its compact form, Ruby sat down next to her sparring partner with a smile on her face.

"But I'm surprised, Jaune," she said. "I didn't expect you to be so good! You've improved a lot since we last fought back at Beacon!"

"Well, I wasn't just slacking around," Jaune replied. "Even if I haven't been able to spar for real, I've been training my mind and body all this time, y'know?"

"Glad to hear," Ruby said, standing up. "Let's head back; Weiss will start complaining about using her glyphs for camouflage if we sit around too long."

"Yeah," Jaune agreed, getting to his feet and picking up his weapon. "Say, Ruby. You feeling alright? I thought you'd be more down in the dumps after… you know."

"Oh, that," Ruby replied, her head drooping a little. "Yeah, I was, but Weiss talked me out of it. I can't stay depressed forever, right? I'm the leader after all."

"Ruby…" Jaune trailed off, looking for something that might tell him it was another lie.

"Say, Jaune," Ruby said out of nowhere. "Do you think… things will ever go back to how they were?"

Jaune hesitated. Perhaps he should have told her the truth, and say that there was no way everything could possibly be the same again. Perhaps he should have kept silent, and let her derive that harsh answer on her own. However, he could not say those simple words. To him, speaking from the heart was a lot easier than speaking from his mind.

"They will," he assured her. "We just have to believe it will. If we don't believe, how will our teammates follow our vision?"

Ruby smiled. Jaune may not be the best of fighters, but she had to admit that he was a better leader than she was.

"Thanks, vomit boy," she said.

"Stay strong, crater face," Jaune replied, bumping fists with her.

They knew that nothing would ever be the same again. They were well aware that the world could never be the same again when people they knew had already died. They were not emotionless, and they were by no means battle-hardened adults, but they knew their purpose. They knew their roles.

With a firm resolve, the two leaders returned to their teams, determination flaring in their unwavering gaze.

* * *

"Well, now that everyone is here, let's begin," Weiss declared.

Everyone sat around the table, either on the floor or on the small stools. While their moods had improved since their discovery of Cardin' and Velvet's death a week ago, the atmosphere was nonetheless not one filled with optimism.

"We've located a defense base here," Weiss began, pointing to the location. "The soldiers here monitor any and all transport in and out of Beacon. If we want to get to the central control tower, we'll need to be able to enter Beacon at the very least. To do that, we'll take over this base and use the helicarriers for transport. If we can take over Beacon, we just might save Vale. It's a sloppy plan, but we just might be able to pull it off now that Team JNPR is here."

"How're you so sure?" Pyrrha asked. "We can't be sure that the White Fang will just give up if we take out their leaders."

"The leaders stay at Beacon to make sure the central control tower isn't sabotaged," Blake explained. "If the tower's destroyed, it'll render the Collars effectively useless. When that happens, humans can start fighting back. The number of humans and Faunus against the White Fang's oppressive rule vastly outnumber the White Fang's forces, which is why the latter tamed Grimm to make up for it. Once their leaders are gone, the White Fang can be neutralized."

"Well, that aside," Jaune pointed out. "Even if it does work, how are we going to pull this off? Sneaking into a helicarrier is one thing, but launching an assault on their stronghold isn't something eight of us can pull off."

"Don't underestimate us, vomit boy," Yang said, waving her finger at him. "We know a bunch of people who're willing to help us raid our former castle."

"Right," Ruby chipped in. "We've made contact with several of the resistance forces hiding from the White Fang. They're groups who have freed a lot more prisoners than we have, so their numbers are reliable, but most of them have Collars."

"That's right," Weiss added. "Blake knows a group of Faunus against the White Fang and is willing to aid us as well. However, our reinforcements can't go around actively due to their need for protection and overall large size, so we'll take over the defense base not only to get access to the helicarriers but also to make it our base of operations."

"So they're willing to help us, but only if we do all this work for them and get them a base?" Ren asked, receiving four grim nods in reply.

"Unfortunately, we're on our own for this mission," Weiss sighed.

"Wait a minute," Nora spoke up. "If we take over their defense base, won't they know about it and shoot us down the moment they see us approaching?"

"That's why we needed two teams on this," Weiss declared, pointing to the map again. "While one team takes the defense base, another team will attack this communication tower."

"They only have the one?" Pyrrha asked.

"Luckily, yes," Blake replied. "From what we could gather, the White Fang destroyed many possible places that could be used to relay information to confuse the human troops when they attacked. After their victory, they had to pay the price for that by having only one communications tower left standing to take over. That's why when we take it down, we can confuse them for a good few days if we have control over the defense base as well."

They knew that it was a sloppy plan. They knew that the risks were high, but at the same time they knew that their opponent was not as powerful as they appeared to be; the White Fang suffered many casualties in their attack on Vale as well, and their overly effective destruction of important infrastructure led to their resulting less-than-perfect defenses becoming their weak points. They were powerful, sure, but they were not unbeatable.

"They destroyed too much, so they have less to use for themselves?" Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow. "Would they really be so careless?"

"It's not as if they had a choice," Weiss pointed out. "They were weaker in numbers to begin with, so they'd have to resort to these methods. Frankly, I'm surprised they even left any communication towers left standing after that at all."

Jaune nodded. He had seen the sheer amount of violence wrought by the White Fang at Beacon on the night they attacked. He even remembered wondering how Beacon was still left standing at all after a raid like that.

"So our teams will be going to separate locations?" Jaune asked. "That doesn't sound too safe."

"We don't really have an option," Blake reasoned. "Besides, it'll be easier to sneak around with a smaller group."

"What do you say, leader?" Ren asked.

"Well, if I refuse my legs will be broken," Jaune muttered, hearing Nora's goofy laugh at that. "We're in. We can't just sit around and do nothing."

Even as he said that, Jaune felt an ominous sense of foreboding from his own words. He knew very well that the plan was dangerous, and that there were many risks involved, but the uneasiness was more than just feeling nervous about a big operation.

It felt eerily like a premonition of death.

* * *

Now that I think back about it, I should have stopped you. If I think back on it, there were many things I could have said to make you stay behind.

Now, everything I ever had to say, and everything I will ever want to say, will forever be left unsaid.

I should have stopped you back then. I should have talked some sense into you. You were my partner, and an irreplaceable part of me. Yet, I let you walk into the jaws of the enemy. I let you down.

And in the end, my weakness cost you your life.


	11. 11 - Please Forget

**Welcome to chapter 11! **

**Er… That's all I have to say. Moving on!**

* * *

He could not look at her. He could not speak to her. He was not, as they said, 'worthy of her presence'. And yet, even though he accepted that, he still wanted to be with her. He wanted Weiss Schnee to look at him.

He remembered the night the White Fang attacked. Team RWBY was up looking at shooting stars, and Nora had suggested doing the same. He had, however, no interest in doing something like that, not when it was something that lovers tended to do.

He was just some other guy, and he was hopelessly normal. That may not have been such a bad thing, if not for the fact that he was attending a school for elite fighters.

Everyone here, no matter how unskilled they might be, was superior to him in some way. In a place like this, there was no way for someone like him to fit in. In a place like this, there was no way he could find someone akin to a friend. A lover. An equal.

And despite his mediocrity, that man had made him a leader. Despite his inability, his team followed him. Despite his lies and weaknesses, _she_ did not give up on him.

When Jaune first met her, Pyrrha Nikos was just some other girl. He found it odd that she would be wearing armor, but this _was_ a combat school after all. He had believed that she was normal – quirky, but commonplace – because he had not felt anything special from her. Unlike Weiss, whose vibe was one of sheer confidence and perfection, Pyrrha Nikos felt closer to Jaune as an individual.

But when he found out that she was someone skilled – someone worthy of mention – he understood. Who was he kidding, telling himself that he was possibly similar to someone here? There was nobody in this place who would lose to him; they were the legitimate fighters, and they were the real Hunters. Who was he to look down on anyone, or even look at them like he was their equal?

Even though he knew all that, he persevered. Even though he accepted how pathetic he was, he did not give up; such was the will of an Arc. That was when he started to question his own feelings.

Why was he attracted to Weiss? Was it simply because she was beautiful? Was it because she was rich? If it was, he would punch himself for being so stupid. No; he wanted to be with her because she was perfect. She was the splitting image of perfection, be it in studies or combat. She was everything that he wanted to become, and she had what he wanted right at her fingertips. He wanted to be like her, and he idolized that perfection. He aspired to be like Weiss, and that admirations had led him to believe he was in love. But those feelings, as swiftly as they had surfaced, faded away before he realized she could never reciprocate his feelings.

She was perfect, but that also meant he could never reach her level. He had admired her strength, but it was ultimately because it was something he could not have. She was perfect, but she was ultimately distant – a forever faraway goal that commoners like him could only see, but never reach no matter how hard they tried. She would never look down all the way and see him, nor notice his struggles. How could she possibly come to love a man like that?

Perhaps he realized it the moment he first met her. Perhaps he understood it in the first words they exchanged. Perhaps he had just tried to pretend that he was unaware, but Jaune Arc knew that he was a man whom Weiss Schnee could never love. Maybe it was because of this that he paid more attention to the woman known as Pyrrha Nikos.

Pyrrha was perfect, but she was not the same as Weiss; he had treated her like a normal girl because of her different vibe after all. Unlike the white-haired heiress, Pyrrha felt… normal. Regardless of results, regardless of actual ability, Pyrrha did not give off the impression of a celebrated figure of power. No matter how well she did, he could not once think of her as simply being talented, and that he could never catch up; he could only think that someday, he might just be able to do the same.

The more he looked at his partner – his teammate – the more Jaune began to realize why. Pyrrha may be as good as, if not more so, than Weiss, but she was ultimately a normal girl. She was not exceedingly talented, and she had no head start in life; all her results were proof of her unrelenting efforts. Unlike those hailed as geniuses and prodigies, Pyrrha was someone who carved her own way to the top with her own blood, sweat and tears. She climbed up with hard work, she overcame weakness with resilience and she emerged victorious through sheer will – she was living proof that even normal people could achieve great things if they tried hard enough. Even if she stood at the top, Jaune felt no sense of idolization towards her. Instead, beyond being proud of her, he was even hopeful.

She was once someone common, someone whom people paid no attention to. Even now, she might still be a regular person like Jaune was. Watching her did not make Jaune feel jealous, or berate himself for his own worthlessness; it gave him hope that he might someday do the same.

For the first time since he entered Beacon, Jaune Arc had found someone he could almost call his 'equal'. She was far ahead, but she was not someone he could never reach. She was far ahead, but she was not a goal; she was a runner as well. Even though she was so much better than he was, Jaune had the mysterious feeling that she was right next to him at the same time. She was just as incredible as Weiss Schnee was, but she was so much closer to where he – where the mediocre people – was.

For the first time ever, Jaune felt that he had found a friend in Pyrrha Nikos. At that time, however, he failed to realize how important he was to her precisely because of that.

* * *

"Ah, I'm pooped…" Jaune sighed, lying on the floor without concern for his clothes. Granted, they were plenty dirty as is, so he probably did not need to care. Looking up at the ceiling of the Lighthouse, he sighed again. "Why can't I win?"

"Good work today," Pyrrha praised, handing him a cup of water. "You did great, so don't worry; I'm really surprised how much you've improved."

"Yeah, Ruby's a great teacher," Jaune replied. "Thanks to her, I've learned a few good tricks."

"I-is that so…" Pyrrha said halfheartedly, looking away with a dejected expression on her face. She was not jealous of Jaune getting along with Ruby; the two of them shared an uncanny chemistry, whether because of their shared social awkwardness or their responsibility as team leaders she did not know. However, Pyrrha herself had been Jaune's sparring partner and teacher back in Beacon, and while the natural blonde had been thankful for her help, he had never once said what he just said to her. "T-that's great, isn't it?"

"No kidding," Jaune replied, completely oblivious to Pyrrha's downcast mood. "I wouldn't want to be a burden to the team when we attack the base."

"Say, Jaune…" Pyrrha began nervously. "Y-you remember that night at Cardin's when I woke up?"

"Oh, y-yeah," Jaune nodded awkwardly, refusing to meet Pyrrha's eyes. When Pyrrha had pulled him into an overwhelming kiss back then, he had absolutely no idea what was going on. Even after escaping to safety, there was a few times where he thought it had been a dream – a delusion born from his lack of popularity with women. However, Pyrrha's one simple question brought him back to reality, as well as the fact that they had really kissed. "What about it?"

"I… I didn't know what I was doing at the time," Pyrrha said weakly. "I was just confused, and when I found out that we were safe I was just so glad I k-kiss… I kissed you because you were the only one around. I-it was an accident, so could we forget about it?"

Jaune said nothing, forcing Pyrrha to wait while enduring the heavy silence. She was secretly glad that Team RWBY was still outside, or she would probably die of embarrassment.

"So that's what it was," Jaune replied at last, managing a weak smile. "Man, you should have said so earlier, Pyrrha; you had me nervous for a while there."

Pyrrha bit her lower lip, not saying anything but also unable to hide the fact that her lips were quivering.

"It's okay, I understand," Jaune replied, offering her a slightly wider smile. "We'll let bygones be bygones. It never happened, okay?"

"R-right," Pyrrha managed, standing up and leaving the room. "I'm… going out for some fresh air. See you later, Jaune."

"Yeah, sure thing," Jaune replied lightly, waving her goodbye.

"Jaune," Nora spoke up suddenly, standing in front of Jaune while reaching for something behind her back.

"Hmm? What's up, Nora?" Jaune asked, completely oblivious to the dangerous aura emanating from his teammate.

"I'm going to break your legs, okay?" Nora asked, beaming widely as she unfolded her beloved Magnhild.

"Eh?" Jaune's eyes went wide as he processed that question. "W-wait a minute, Nora! W-why are you saying such dangerous things with a smile? W-what are you doing with that- WAAH!"

With a loud crashing sound, Nora created a dent in the ground right next to Jaune, catching a few strands of his blond hair in her swing. Folding up her hammer and giving Jaune an annoyed glare, Nora followed after Pyrrha.

"Nora, stop," Ren caught up to her somewhere in the middle of the passage, where only a faint flicker of light managed to creep into the space. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "Let them figure this out on their own."

"I can't just sit back and watch, Ren!" Nora exclaimed, turning to face her childhood friend. Her eyes were wet, but she did not bother hiding them from him.

"This is their relationship," Ren reminded her calmly. "We promised Pyrrha that we'd stay out of it; she wants to settle her feelings for Jaune by herself. She doesn't want to depend on anyone else for her own love, Nora."

"B-but I can't stay out of it!" Nora cried, burying her face in Ren's chest. She was still holding back her tears, but her voice was shaky. "I'm happiest when we're all together! Don't you feel the same way, Ren?! It's because we're all together that you're talking so much, and you're laughing so much now!"

Ren held his tongue, bringing up a hand to stroke Nora's hair. He did not know what to say to that; she was right after all.

"I don't want those happy memories to stay in the past!" Nora said. "I want us to laugh more, Ren… You, me, Jaune and Pyrrha… Together with Team RWBY. I don't want Pyrrha to be sad; even if she gets dumped, I want her to be able to laugh again because she knows she tried! I don't want her to keep it all bottled up inside her like that!"

"Calm down, Nora," Ren comforted. "I want you… I want us to be able to laugh again as well, provided you don't take pictures," he added, making Nora giggle. "But as friends, let's have faith in them, alright?"

"I guess…" Nora said reluctantly, pouting as she pulled away from Ren. "One condition: you smile for me!"

"As you wish," Ren replied, smiling gently at his Queen of the Castle. Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, he ruffled her hair as continued: "Don't be hasty, Nora. The day will come when we can all have fun together without any of this insanity in our lives."

"Can I break Jaune's legs then?" Nora asked hopefully. Ren chuckled.

"Of course you can."

* * *

… **I don't know why, but I have the sudden urge to punch Jaune in the face right now. **

**Quite a bit of Jaune in this chapter. Thought I'd give a little bit more background to the Mr. Arc in this story, so this chapter happened. It almost makes you forget how messed up the world is in this story, huh? If it does, yay! If not, I'm sorry; I'll try harder next time.**

**Till next chapter!**


	12. 12 - Honesty

**Welcome to Chapter 12! This one took a little longer than usual because it's my first time actually writing something like this. Do forgive me.**

* * *

Ruby ducked, watching the weapon fly past where her head had been moments before. As Weiss began to withdraw her rapier, she jumped forward, moving past her arm and between the heiress and Myrtenaster.

"Another point for me!" she declared, resting the blade of Crescent Rose against the back of Weiss's neck to emphasize her point.

"At least your speed is still annoyingly fast," Weiss grumbled, returning her weapon to its proper place around her waist.

"As Penny would say, I'm 'Combat Ready'!" Ruby said proudly, folding up her darling. Then, the look in her eyes changed to one of worry as she made eye contact with Weiss. "Are you sure you'll be alright, Weiss?"

"I'll be fine," Weiss replied with an exasperated sigh; this was the twelfth time Ruby had asked the same question since Weiss had started fighting with her right hand thanks to her left being in a cast. "I'm a lot more used to fighting with my right hand now."

"But-" Ruby began, but Weiss silenced her with a flick on the forehead.

"No 'buts', Ruby Rose," she said, unleashing her trump card – the commanding tone that won her any argument with Ruby, even when the latter was in the right. Someone (she suspected Yang) had named it 'The Schnee', much to Weiss's chagrin. "Besides, what would you do without me? What would you do if you get captured by the enemy or get in some other trouble because of your clumsiness?"

"I won't get caught…" Ruby mumbled under her breath, bowing her head in embarrassment.

"And where do you find the evidence to support that claim?" Weiss asked, putting her hands on her hip.

"Okay, I get it," Ruby conceded, just as Weiss knew she would. "You're coming along! But don't overdo it, alright?"

"I don't need you to worry about me, you dolt," Weiss said, flicking her forehead again. "I'm Weiss Schnee after all. You just worry about yourself so that you can reduce my workload."

"Yes ma'am…" Ruby whined, rubbing her forehead. "If I had a bump every time you flicked my forehead, my forehead would be twice its normal size by now…"

"What's it matter?" Weiss said offhandedly. "I'd still like it."

The world went silent for what felt like several centuries as Ruby spun around and looked at her partner in open surprise. Weiss, on the other hand, looking equally shocked at her own words, stared into the distance with wide eyes as her face grew redder with each passing second.

"Er… Weiss?" Ruby prompted nervously. "Did you just…?"

"N-no, I did not!" Weiss retorted, defiantly refusing to meet Ruby's eyes. The temperature of their surroundings had mysteriously skyrocketed out of nowhere, making her face burn uncomfortably. "I-I meant that I'd still like flicking it, that's all!"

"Really?" Ruby asked, blushing a little herself.

"O-of course!" Weiss crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What on Remnant could I possibly be talking about, you dolt?"

"Aww," Ruby pouted. The sight of her face made Weiss's heart skip a beat. She hated it when Ruby used her cuteness as a trump card against her; such WMDs should be made illegal. "I was so happy for a moment there…"

"W-wh-" Weiss began, her blushing levels going over a certain four digit number. She was about to launch a flustered reply when Pyrrha walked in, wiping her eyes with an arm.

"Oh, sorry," the ace of Team JNPR said hastily as she looked up, noticing Ruby and Weiss for the first time. "I-I didn't see you guys there."

"What's wrong, Pyrrha?" Ruby asked, walking over to her. Weiss heaved a small sigh of relief before joining her leader. "Why're you crying?"

"I… got some dirt in my eye," Pyrrha lied. It was a terrible lie, but Ruby – being the worst liar in both teams combined – did not catch on immediately. Weiss, however, saw through it instantly. "I was sparring with Jaune and he swiped up some dirt to obstruct my vision. Some just entered my eye by accident."

"Come on then," Weiss said. "I'll take you to the nearby stream. Ruby, you go back first. Help me prepare the ingredients for dinner," she added, just as her leader was about to say something, probably about coming along.

"Alright," Ruby nodded. "You two be careful."

"_You_ be careful," Weiss replied, rolling her eyes. "I don't want you hurting yourself on the knife again."

"It was only that one time!" Ruby complained as the white-haired heiress dragged Pyrrha away by the wrist.

* * *

"So, what did the goof do this time?"

Pyrrha jumped at the question, but did not attempt to lie her way out of it as she washed her face by the stream.

"When I woke up in Cardin's hideout, Jaune was there," she began slowly, sitting down on the grass. Weiss's glyphs kept them safe from detection, allowing her to speak her mind. "I was so glad to see him safe then that I… I kissed him."

Weiss's eyes widened for a moment, but she did her best to hide that expression. Sitting down next to Pyrrha, she let her former idol continue speaking.

"I just couldn't control myself," Pyrrha went on, hugging her knees a little tighter to her chest. "Before I realized it, our lips were already touching. I'm sorry, Weiss."

"Why're you apologizing to me?" Weiss asked. "It's not as if Jaune and I are going out."

"I know," Pyrrha replied. "But I kissed him knowing full well that he already likes someone else and not me. You know who that person is, right?"

"Considering how subtle his advances are," Weiss said sarcastically. "Yes, I have some notion. But said love interest has no intention of ever going out with him, so you shouldn't feel bad about it. Besides, he hasn't even confessed or anything, so I don't see why you should feel guilty about letting him know how you feel."

"It just doesn't feel right," Pyrrha said. "Not when he's preoccupied with someone else…"

Pyrrha left the rest of her thoughts unsaid, but Weiss understood. After experiencing that torture chamber, it was difficult to believe in thoughts like 'maybe tomorrow would be better'. Pyrrha, having kept silent about her feelings for Jaune back at Beacon, had lost the restraint she once possessed in the uncertainty of what tomorrow might bring. However, in the end, she still could not bring herself to get in Jaune's way. As long as Jaune's affection for Weiss was not resolved, she could not move forward herself.

"So he… rejected you?" Weiss asked, breaking the pregnant silence.

"No," Pyrrha replied dryly. "I told him that I didn't know what I was doing at the time, and asked him to forget about it…"

"And he believed it?" Weiss asked incredulously. When Pyrrha said nothing, she sighed. "For crying out loud…"

"Jaune will be Jaune, I guess," Pyrrha said with a bitter smile, shrugging her shoulders. Instead of speaking, however, Weiss moved next to her and put her arms around her. "Erm… Weiss?"

"I picked it up from my dolt of a leader," Weiss replied, going a little red in the face; Ruby may be comfortable with doing this every time, but the heiress was by no means the same. "Does it make you feel better?"

Pyrrha closed her eyes silently, relishing the gentle warmth from the white-haired princess. At her own request, her teammates had kept their distance, even if she ended up regretting it afterward. It left her to her own thoughts, but it ultimately made her feel more distant as well. When was the last time Nora – or anyone, for that matter – had embraced her like this?

"Yes, it does," she said at last. "Thank you, Weiss."

"This is strictly between us, okay?" Weiss asked nervously, moving her hands away. "All the Dust in the world won't be able to wipe the grin off Ruby's face once she knows."

"Understood," Pyrrha replied, chuckling. Even though it did nothing for her situation, the talk and hug did manage to lift her spirits a little. "You know, for a supposed 'snow angel', you're actually pretty warm, aren't you?"

"I'm going to kill Jaune," Weiss hissed menacingly; she had never quite gotten over Jaune giving her that nickname back during their time at Beacon.

"Guess we both have troublesome and airheaded love interests, huh?" Pyrrha asked, laughing.

"Yeah, I gue-" Weiss paused mid-sentence, detecting something wrong in Pyrrha's sentence. "Wait; what's 'we both' supposed to mean?"

"Who knows?" Pyrrha asked, imitating Nora's goofy manner of acting ignorant before dashing back towards the hideout.

Weiss would eventually give chase. After she managed to calm her flustered, blushing expression first, that was.

* * *

"Oww!" Ruby whined, trying and failing to yank her hand away from Weiss's iron grip. "Be gentler, Weiss! You're supposed to be the graceful one!"

"You hush," Weiss ordered, dabbing the alcohol pad onto Ruby's finger with significantly less strength than before nonetheless. "You brought this on yourself."

Ruby pouted. Weiss tried telling her to stop it, but that expression was too adorable that her voice died at her throat. Such lethal weapons should be banned forever, or someday she might melt for real.

"What were my instructions, Ruby?" Weiss asked. The whole Lighthouse was empty save the two of them, owing to the fact that no one else wanted to listen in on the heiress lecture her team leader. It gave them privacy, but it also made Weiss's presence much more overwhelming.

"To prepare the ingredients…" Ruby mumbled. Her ears were still ringing from that ten minute scolding, and she dreaded the fact that Weiss was definitely going to continue; she was only given temporary reprieve because Weiss had prioritized her treatment.

"So how did that end up with you scalding two of your fingers, cutting another two and then blowing up our stove?" Weiss asked sternly.

"It's not actually a stove; it's a table with circular dents to hold the Dust for burn- Oww!" Ruby broke off mid-retort, succumbing to the force Weiss put into the alcohol pad pressing against the cut in her finger. "I-I didn't know how to light it so I poked around! I didn't expect it to blow up with just a pinch of gunpowder!"

"That's why I said to 'prepare the ingredients', not 'cook in my place', you dolt," Weiss sighed, moving on to the other finger. "Although from the state of your fingers, I shouldn't be tasking you with that either."

Ruby, without a way to counter that argument, merely sulked. She waited patiently (albeit she still struggled to stay still) for Weiss to finish disinfecting and washing the wound, before putting on the plaster. When she was finally done, Ruby practically jumped out of the bed.

"For crying out loud," Weiss groaned. "We've got a big operation tomorrow, so save that energy. Geez…"

"There's a storm coming, Weiss," Ruby said gravely. "We'd best prepare ourselves for the worst."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked, suddenly going on full alert.

"I don't know," Ruby admitted, utterly obliterating the tense mood. "I just heard that phrase a lot in movies I watched with Yang in the past, so I thought it'd be cool to say it. It sounds epic, right?"

"Ruby Rose!" Weiss bellowed in a mixture of shock and anger. She could not decide which weighed more right now, and she did not care. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Eep!" Ruby squeaked. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that, Weiss!"

_You guys are all I have left._

Those words, echoing ominously in Ruby's ears, brought her sharply back to reality. Weiss had already lost everyone else; even the mere thought of losing someone now was unbearable for her. What was she thinking, saying those words on impulse just because they sounded cool? Had she not outgrown those things?

Unsure of what to do, Ruby fidgeted on the spot for a few seconds while Weiss stared at the ground, her expression unreadable. Running out of ideas, the fearless leader of Team RWBY walked forward and put her arms around her partner.

"We won't lose, Weiss," she whispered reassuringly. "We've faced worse before, and we've always emerged victorious, right? No one's going to die anymore, Weiss. No one's going to leave you. _I _won't leave you."

"… You promise?"

Ruby almost did not register that question. Sure, Weiss had become more honest with herself and others over the days spent in the Lighthouse, but Ruby had not expected this. She had not expected that Weiss – that confident, graceful and powerful heiress – would ask a question filled with uncertainty, fear and weakness. A question directed at Ruby herself.

"I promise," she replied, closing her eyes as she felt Weiss's arms around her waist, returning the hug. They just stayed like that for a few silent minutes, and then finally released each other.

"I-if you tell anyone, I'll freeze you," Weiss threatened, her face going redder than Ruby's cloak. "Then I'm confiscating Crescent Rose for a month."

"Yikes," Ruby replied, but she was smiling cheekily at that empty threat. "I guess I better be careful, then."

"Dolt," Weiss muttered under her breath. "S-stop staring at me!"

"But it's not every day I get to see you blush," Ruby said, causing Weiss to grimace weakly and her blush to deepen. "I ought to take a picture-"

"I'm going to dismantle that weapon of yours," Weiss snapped, flicking Ruby's forehead. "A-and I told you: stop looking."

"But I don't know where else to look~" Ruby complained. Teasing Weiss had never been so fun before; she wondered why she did not do this more often.

"A-anyway!" Weiss said, regaining some of her composure. "I-I'm not done lecturing you for your fiasco in the kitchen yet! S-so close your eyes!"

"Why do I-" Ruby began, but Weiss gave her a glare that could pierce metal, so she kept quiet and obeyed. She braced herself for another flick or possibly a karate chop, when-

A soft sensation caressed her forehead. If her eyes had not burst open on instinct, Ruby would definitely have not believed the source to be Weiss's lips.

"Don't hurt yourself again, you dolt," Weiss finished. "Some of us worry, you know."

Ruby's eyes could not go any wider, so she gave up trying. She was out of things to say, cheeky or otherwise. She wondered if she should pinch her own cheeks to know if this was a dream, but a part of herself told her that if it was, she should not be stupid and wake up from it yet.

"D-did the message get across?" Weiss asked, looking uncannily embarrassed.

"Um…" Ruby was still in a bit of a daze. "One more time, please?"

"… You dolt," Weiss muttered. Before she could say anything else, however, Ruby had already closed her eyes expectantly. With a hesitant glance towards the entrance of the tunnel, Weiss took a deep breath and leaned forward.

When their lips met, it took all of Ruby's efforts to keep her burning cheeks from overheating.

She had made her a promise. She promised that they would always be there, and that she would never have to lose anyone ever again.

She did not want to lose anyone. She did not care about her image, her wealth or her possessions if it meant that she could have those she loved by her sides. Clinging on to Ruby's words, Weiss felt at ease for the first time since leaving Beacon. Even if this moment was fleeting, she was going to make sure every fraction of a second lasted an eternity.

In the flickering glow cast by the few candles in the space, she held her close, wishing that this warmth would never disappear.

* * *

**I'm glad that unlike a certain blonde dunce, someone is honest with their feelings. **

**Pretty much ended up being pure shipping here. More fighting will come next chapter, though personally I don't view the fighting as the main focus of this story. Hopefully it'll become clearer as the story moves on. **

**Anyway, see you next chapter!**


	13. 13 - Scattering Lotus

**Welcome to chapter 13! I initially expected this to be chapter 14 or 15, but the in-between content wasn't all that long or important, so it ended up here. As such, enjoy!**

* * *

She smiled. It was an enigmatic expression – so similar to her usual mirthful grins, yet uncannily different. It was so dazzling, so beautiful, it felt like it could last an eternity.

Lie Ren had always thought of Nora Valkyrie as a childhood friend. An irreplaceable friend, but ultimately just that. However, there were times when he wondered if she was more than that to him. He wondered if he was more than just a friend to her.

Perhaps he had realized it a long time ago, and perhaps he had been ignoring it all this time. Perhaps he had only just come to understand the meaning of that feeling, but when he looked at that brilliant smile, Ren knew.

He knew that he loved the woman known as Nora Valkyrie.

* * *

"Ah, I love you," Ruby said to her trademark red cloak, rubbing her cheek on it before putting it on. "How I've missed you…"

"For crying out loud…" Weiss muttered, sighing.

"Aww, don't be jealous, Weiss," Ruby teased, whispering those words into the heiress's ears and enjoying her blush. "You're still number one to me."

"I-I'm so honored to be worth more than a cloak," Weiss stammered, her sarcasm peppered with embarrassment.

"When did you two get so lovey-dovey?" Yang asked, loading fresh ammunition into her gauntlets.

"Since Weiss admitted she was lonely without me," Ruby replied cheekily, hugging Weiss like a giant plushie.

"Ruby Rose!" Weiss exclaimed, her face matching the shade of Ruby's cloak as she attempted to vehemently deny everything she had just said.

"Okay, let's wrap it up," Pyrrha said, sheathing her weapon. "It's almost time."

Team RWBY's members nodded. From their apparent lack of tension, to their confidence, to their clothes – they looked no different from back then, when they were still Huntresses-in-training back at Beacon. They struck a stark contrast, however, with the members of Team JNPR, who now wore different clothes and bore several scars across their bodies.

Jaune and Pyrrha, who had been accustomed to wearing armor plates during combat, were fidgeting around, unable to shake off the uneasy feeling of going into battle with just fabric on their skin. Ren and Nora, however, were hardly concerned with their attire at all; they were already content with just having their own weapons with them.

"Aw yeah!" Yang cheered. "Let's get this over and done with so we can party!"

Ever since the suggestion to have a celebratory party after their respective missions, Yang had been excited to no end at the prospect of having mindless fun. If the blonde had been the one to suggest it, the idea would probably have been shot down instantly out of fear for whatever she might have planned, but surprisingly, the one who suggested it had not been Yang.

It had been Weiss.

While relaxing after a mission was the main goal, Weiss had intended for it to be a good opportunity for Pyrrha to confess to Jaune. Despite being a proficient fighter, Pyrrha was exceedingly hesitant when it came to her own romantic advances. As her admirer, Weiss felt that it was partially her duty to assist the female warrior in that matter.

"Yang, focus on the mission," Blake sighed. "You can do whatever you want after we bring down the tower."

"Anything, huh?" Yang asked, smirking at her partner. "Remember you said that, kitty cat…"

Feeling a chill run down her spine, Blake shivered. Weiss had to cover Ruby's ears to keep her from hearing more, even though the latter did not seem to understand what was being said anyway.

"Alright, let's roll!" Nora cheered, as Jaune pushed aside the boulder at the entrance. "We'll beat the crap out of 'em and rock the night away!"

Cheering, Nora gave Yang a hi-five. Ren watched on, smiling slightly at the sight; his Queen of the Castle was still the same as ever.

"From this point onwards, communication between teams will be cut," Ruby said, finally getting into a serious mood. "Team RWBY will take out the communications tower, and Team JNPR the defense base. We'll rendezvous at the agreed location when the objectives have been completed. If the mission fails, at least make sure everyone returns safely, okay?"

"I never thought I'd see the day where Ruby ends up speaking like a teacher," Jaune wondered aloud. "But I guess it's not so bad."

"I know, right?" Yang said, sobbing. "My little Ruby has finally grown up… To think there was a time when I had to change her diaper and everything…"

"Hey, I try, y'know?" Ruby asked, pouting. "Even I don't stay a kid forever."

"You tell 'em, sis!" Yang said, cheering her on. However, Ruby did not let her earlier comment slide just like that.

"Well, that's fine too," Jaune said, holding out his fist. "See you at the party, Ruby."

"I'm expecting an awesome dance, Jaune," Ruby replied, bumping fists with a confident smile.

* * *

"How's everything looking?" Jaune asked, whispering into his mic.

"Just like we were told, the number of battlesuits is low," Pyrrha replied. "However, I don't think we can take them on, so don't engage. Don't worry; the battlesuits can't enter the corridors or rooms, so if they have no idea where we are they won't do anything."

"We can disable them, right?" Jaune asked. "We have those weird EMP grenades from Team RWBY's 'connections', right?"

"They're temporary measures," Pyrrha reminded him. "Once we take out the soldiers here, the grenades will let us board and take over the battlesuits. We can't do that under enemy fire. Besides, when the battlesuits that were sent out to check our decoys come back, we'll be needing the grenades then as well."

"Roger that," Jaune replied. "Ren, what about you?"

"Just a little more," Ren answered. "Okay, the alarms are disabled. It's a go."

At that sentence, Team JNPR stormed the base.

* * *

Ren reloaded the ammunition for StormFlower, kicking a soldier aside as he did so. As more White Fang soldiers charged down the corridor, bullets tearing through the air, he stood his ground and did not move. He did not return fire, nor did he duck; he merely observed.

Without warning, he took action. Swinging StormFlower in a circular motion, Ren sliced apart the first wave of bullets as he tilted his head and body to the side, avoiding those he had not managed to cut. Somersaulting forward, he bypassed another cluster of bullets as he maintained his balance. Flinging Stormflower forward, he summoned his Aura, parrying the bullets using his palms alone.

The bullets bounced off and buried themselves in the walls, ceiling and floor, seemingly deflected by his bare hands. In truth, Ren's Aura had protected his body from the attack, creating an invisible barrier between him and the incoming hail of bullets.

StormFlower spun through the air, crashing directly at the faces of the two closest shooters and flying upwards. Taking advantage of the momentary decrease in gunfire, Ren instantly closed the distance between them in one powerful leap, catching his weapons in mid-air as they fell. Before the two shooters had gotten to their feet, Ren had already opened fire.

Green muzzle flashes filled his vision, and the countless bullets he unleashed onto his enemies mowed them down easily. They had their Aura up, and as such were uninjured, but Ren did not give them the opportunity to get up; he fired continuously and relentlessly, making sure that they stayed on the ground. Even if they could not be hurt, the impact from his semiautomatic fire was enough to keep them on their backs.

When the first of the screams started up, followed by a jet of blood, Ren stopped. With the enemies' Aura depleted, he simply went to them and knocked them out with a simple fist. Those who had been bleeding only took a couple of bullets to the arms or legs, so they would live; even if he did hate the White Fang, Ren had no intention of killing any of them.

After confirming that they were knocked out, Ren quickly tied them up and threw them into a nearby room, making sure to lock it afterwards. He had already lost count of how many soldiers he had managed to subdue, but there seemed to be no end to them.

"Nora, where are you?" he asked, panting. He had never been one to fight in drawn-out battles, and this was starting to put a lot of strain on his body. Needless to say, it must be just as bad if not worse for the others, especially Nora; even though she may not seem like it, Ren knew that she disliked fighting alone. "I'll head over-"

"Ren, help-" Nora said in a panicky voice, but she was cut off by a sudden burst of static. When the voice returned, it was no longer Nora speaking.

"The hangar," was all the man said.

* * *

Ren panted, barely able to catch his breath as he entered the hangar. He had used his Aura quite a bit, and he had fought far too many enemies as well. He was not in the condition to do battle, especially since he was the kind to wear himself out easily, but he did not have a choice; Jaune and Pyrrha could not be reached, and even if they could they were on the other side of the base. There was no one else to depend on but himself right now.

He had half-expected to be shot on sight. He had anticipated that countless enemies would pounce on him the moment he walked through the door. However, when Ren walked into the hangar, there was only one enemy still standing.

Standing in the center of the large space, armed with a gigantic chainsaw, was a large, muscular man with short black hair. He was definitely a Faunus, but it was difficult to determine which animal he was; not only were there no obvious animal parts on him, he wore a mask to cover his face. However, Ren knew that he was a Faunus because of the mask he wore: it was a Grimm mask worn by the White Fang before they took over Vale.

When they had achieved victory, the White Fang had found no reason to continue hiding their faces, and removed those hideous masks reminiscent of the monsters they now tamed as a result. There were a few exceptions, such as Adam Taurus, but their numbers were not large. This man, whoever he was, must have been one of those who saw the mask as a part of their identity.

And next to him, with a noose around her neck and limbs bound, was Nora.

"Nora!" Ren yelled, but before he could rush to her side, the masked man held out a hand to stop him.

"Not yet," he said, pointing to the small crate that was keeping Nora from hanging. The rest of the noose – a thick steel wire – hung from the ceiling via a pulley and was tied off somewhere far off. "If you don't want to kill your own girlfriend, stay right there."

"What do you want?" Ren asked fiercely.

"That's my question, kid," the White Fang Lieutenant replied. "You come in here and fuck up our base, and you have the nerve to ask me what I want?"

"Let her go," Ren snarled. In the background, distant explosions could be heard; Team JNPR's reinforcements had arrived and were taking over this place by force. At this rate, it would be an easy victory-

"This base is done for," the lieutenant said. "It's your win, kid. That being said, can you guess why I'm doing this?"

"Revenge," Ren replied. If he could keep him talking here, he could cut the wire with a precise throw when his guard was down. If he stalled him here, he'd give reinforcements time to arrive, allowing them to bring him down before he could use that chainsaw on Nora. If only he could-

"Bingo," Lieutenant replied, kicking the crate away, causing the wire to go taut and Nora's eyes to snap open. "Unfortunately, I'm alone, so I'll make do with tormenting you."

"Nora!" Ren yelled, running towards her as she gasped for air. She was hanging, and it would not take long before…

"Pathetic, isn't it?" Lieutenant asked, readying his chainsaw. As it roared to life with a heavy buzzing sound, he raised his volume to speak over the noise. "My subordinates fled when they realized we were losing. To think that they'd run away from mere humans… Such a disgrace! We, the proud members of the White Fang, run away from no one! No one!"

As though emphasizing his point, the chainsaw in his hands crashed violently into the ground, tearing a horrible gash across the concrete. His words may have sounded overly grandiose, but in the face of his power, those thoughts dissipated easily. Ren, who had broken into a sprint, stopped his charge inches from the huge weapon, leaping to the side and dashing towards-

His advance was stopped by a heavy force brutally assaulting his throat, pushing his whole body back and onto the floor, knocking the wind out of him. The fingers tightened, robbing him of air, while the other hand raised that gigantic chainsaw once more. Ren did not even have the time to regret neglecting his opponent because he was too focused on Nora, and struggled in his grip.

"Such weakness," Lieutenant mocked. "They would run away from this? They would fear this? What a joke."

His tone was even, and his voice was calm, but there was nothing but fury flowing out of every syllable. Even though Ren could not meet his eyes, he could feel the sheer rage pouring from his foe – a rage that he had never experienced before.

"If you don't focus on defeating me, she's going to die, you know," he taunted. Behind him, Nora was kicking her legs in vain; with her limbs bound firmly like that, there was nothing she could do besides hang there, waiting for her last breath to be ripped from her throat. "Not that it matters, I guess… So long, kid."

With that, he brought down his chainsaw, aimed straight at Ren's throat. It would have cleaved right through his neck, severing his head from the rest of his body if not for the sudden rain of fire from StormFlower.

Using one gun to repel the chainsaw and the other to attack the Lieutenant directly, Ren got to his feet as the man released him. Keeping his finger firmly on the trigger, Ren continued to blind his opponent with his gunfire as he threw the other gun like a boomerang towards the wire tormenting Nora.

With a shower of sparks, StormFlower bounced off the wire, doing nothing. Before Ren could register the futility of his efforts, the chainsaw cut into his thoughts, tearing off parts of his sleeve as it scattered his blood across the floor.

With a guttural laugh, Lieutenant knocked aside Ren's hand, removing his last weapon and leaving him barehanded. He then proceeded to swing the chainsaw brutally at the teen, wielding it easily as though it was a wooden stick.

"What's wrong, kid?!" He bellowed, thrusting the chainsaw forward. Ren managed to push it to the side using Aura, but it still scrapped against the side of his waist, drawing blood. "Are all you humans this weak?!"

"R-Ren…"

Kicking with all his might, Ren managed to land a solid hit at Lieutenant's gut, pushing him back a few steps. While the Faunus recovered from the impact, Ren closed the distance between them and grabbed his wrist, twisting it to make him drop his weapon. He then managed to kick the chainsaw away, but as a result took a rough fist to the face, knocking him back.

"Nora!" he exclaimed, getting to his feet, ignoring the pain his body was experiencing. Running towards his childhood friend, Ren stretched out his hand, reaching for her as his legs struggled to carry him forward.

He ran and ran, but no matter how much force he put into his legs, with his body feeling like he was moving underwater there was nothing he could do. No matter how much he sprinted, no matter how far he stretched his hands, he could not reach her. No matter how much he yelled her name, they were useless.

Then he saw it. It was but a simple gesture, but in that instant – fleeting yet slowly crawling by – it filled the entirety of Ren's vision.

She smiled. It was an enigmatic expression – so similar to her usual mirthful grins, yet uncannily different. It was so dazzling, so beautiful, it felt like it could last an eternity.

Lie Ren had always thought of Nora Valkyrie as a childhood friend. An irreplaceable friend, but ultimately just that. However, there were times when he wondered if she was more than that to him. He wondered if he was more than just a friend to her.

Perhaps he had realized it a long time ago, and perhaps he had been ignoring it all this time. Perhaps he had only just come to understand the meaning of that feeling, but when he looked at that brilliant smile, Ren knew.

He knew that he loved the woman known as Nora Valkyrie.

However, once that instant passed, none of those sentiments mattered anymore. After that single visceral instant – as her body slowly went limp – the world began to grind to a halt, preserving that ephemeral smile. However, that was all it preserved.

Someone was laughing. In the distance, echoing eerily as Ren sank to his knees, was the laughter of a madman. What was so amusing? What could possibly be so amusing in such a situation that he could laugh?

He screamed. Fire ignited in his throat, yet it failed to thaw his frozen blood. The world had been silent, but that silence was shattered mercilessly as the scream ricocheted off the walls, filling the space with its dreadful resonance. At the same time, he felt something snap.

Was that his own voice, screeching so painfully it hurt just to listen? Were those his own hands, tightening around the throat of the masked stranger in front of him? Were those his tears, blazing a trail down his cheeks?

If it was, why was it that he could not bring himself to stop? Why did he feel that it was alright for this man to die?

"That's right…" Lieutenant gasped, struggling as Ren tightened his grip. Even though he was being strangled, his voice sounded strangely triumphant. "That's what it feels like… to live in despair and anger… That's the face…"

He was still a child. On top of that, he was human. He could not possibly understand what it meant to be a Faunus – to be despised, mocked and ostracized by the rest of the world. However, at that moment, with that look of pure hate and rage painted across his face, Lie Ren changed. He might even have become closer to the man he was strangling. What he had really become at that point, however, was entirely unclear.

"Welcome to… our world," Lieutenant said. Nothing more was said after that, as he slumped over and moved no more.

He did not know how many times he had already screamed. He did not know how many times his own soul had been brutally torn apart. However, Ren's mind – a chaotic cluster of bellowing guilt – still refused to grant him reprieve, burning those horrible images into his brain and forcing his mind's eye to relive it all again. And again. And again.

The pain was terrible. The stabbing sensation in his chest was excruciating. The icy hand that gripped his heart tightly was merciless and unrelenting. The cascading rivers of white-hot tears burned. And in the end, his own blood-curdling scream, too, echoed endlessly within the desolate space.

Left all alone in a dark, scary world, a broken child cried.


	14. 14 - Ice Flower

**W-welcome to Chapter 14!**

**Please note that the events in this chapter take place at the same time as those in chapter 13. Also, the machines from the canon, including those in the Black and White trailers, will be appearing here, so yay! **

**And I'm putting it as 'Ice Flower' not 'White Rose' because in the canon, their combination was referred to as that so I'm assuming that's the official name for the pairing.**

* * *

"Hey, are they done yet?" Ruby whined, brushing a leaf off her head. "I'm tired of waiting…"

"Have some patience, Ruby," Weiss scolded, chopping Ruby's head with her uninjured hand. "Let them do their thing."

Ruby grumbled, but stayed put. Since they did not want the White Fang to be notified of their actions, they had to disable the tower's functions even if temporarily. They were free to destroy the tower if need be, but their contacts had hopes about being able to use it afterwards. Since they were the ones disabling the tower right now, Team RWBY was forced to remain on standby until they were done.

"I'm bored," Yang declared. She and Blake were in another bush, so Ruby could not see her face, but she had a pretty good idea after years of experience. "Blakey…"

"W-what're you doing?" Blake's panicked voice came from the headset. Ruby vaguely wondered if she knew that she and Weiss could hear them right now. "D-don't just start touching me out of nowhere!"

"Girls, we're on a mission," Weiss sighed. "Team JNPR's probably already fighting for their lives right now, so be a little more serious too, okay?"

"Yes ma'am…" Yang grumbled. Ruby was sure she was pouting right now.

"Say, Weiss," Ruby said suddenly. "Are you… nervous?"

"Don't be silly," Weiss replied. "Of course I'm not; I've survived – no, _we've_ survived worse, so this is a piece of cake. Why; are you nervous, Ruby?"

"S-sort of," Ruby admitted, staring resolutely at the ground.

"Weiss," Yang's voice whispered in Weiss's ear. Ruby didn't react, so she assumed it was on a private channel. "Give her a smooch on the forehead. That's how I always calm her down."

"I-it's a dangerous mission," Ruby continued speaking, breaking the silence caused by Weiss's lack of response; the heiress had been too busy deciding if Yang was serious or if she just wanted her to kiss the dolt to alleviate her boredom. "And I can't help but feel that something bad is going to happen to Team JNPR… When I think that the same thing could happen to us, I… I…"

"For crying out loud," Weiss sighed, flicking her forehead. There were times where she felt that the girl's forehead had been made for her flicking. "You are _such_ a worrywart. We've already come this far, so stop thinking about 'what ifs' and lead us like the confident dolt you are."

"We didn't come that far," Ruby pointed out. "It's actually quite close to our- Eep! N-nothing!"

"Good," Weiss said, withdrawing her finger which had been inches away from delivering another blow. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I guess…" Ruby muttered. "But still, you're injured and everything, and-"

Unfortunately, she did not get to finish her sentence with Weiss's lips on hers. Ruby's eyes went so wide it was a wonder they did not pop out of their sockets. Even after their lips parted, she still had that open shock pasted clearly across her face, staring into the distance silently.

"How about now?" she asked. She was embarrassed as well, but she was sure as hell not going to let Ruby see that. "Still nervous?"

For a moment, Weiss thought Ruby's brain had stopped working, causing the girl to remain frozen on the spot (not that she complained; Ruby looked adorable like that), but as time passed, the young girl's face turned pink. Then red. Then deep red. Then very deep red.

"W-what're you blushing so hard for?" Weiss asked, feeling her own face heat up. "I-it's not as if we've never done that before… B-besides, you're going to make me embarrassed as well so snap out of it."

"O-oh," Ruby stammered. "O-okay…"

"So are you still nervous?" Weiss asked, not looking directly at her.

"… One more time," Ruby mumbled.

Weiss spun around so quickly to face Ruby her head almost fell off. She stared at her leader and partner (who seemed determined to give the ground a thorough examination), wide-eyed and speechless.

"… I beg your pardon?" she managed at last.

"One more time…" Ruby muttered somewhat reluctantly. Her face was probably capable of cooking an egg right now. She looked up shyly. "Please?"

Weiss hated those puppy dog eyes. She utterly hated that pleading expression Ruby was so good at. But more than anything, she hated how her determination always swayed whenever she saw it. One of these days, she was going to overcome it and say 'no' to that face. One of these days. Just not now.

"F-fine," she agreed.

* * *

"Yang, your grin's getting creepy," Blake pointed out, edging away from her partner.

"I can't help it," Yang replied. Her smug grin was wide enough to split her face in two. "They're just so cute."

"Weiss's gonna kill you once she finds out," Blake sighed. Although, in Yang's defense, Ruby and Weiss _had_ forgotten to disable their mics, so it was not entirely the blonde's fault.

"She sounds happy," Yang said, her mouth now forming a gentle smile. It was at times like this that Blake felt that Yang was more mature than how she usually presented herself. Then again, she _was_ a big sister. "She tries so hard to act tough in front of me, but now she's… honest."

"Yeah, she is," Blake agreed. As she turned to look at her partner, the Faunus noticed the brief glimmer in Yang's eyes. "Are you lonely now that your sister's found another person to open up to?"

"Of course I am," Yang replied honestly without an ounce of sarcasm. "But I'm the big sis, so I'm fine with being glad for her."

"You've got me," Blake offered, making Yang chuckle.

"I guess so," she said thoughtfully. "I always wanted a pet cat."

Grinning toothily at her partner's disgruntled expression, Yang switched her own mic back on and spoke through the team's channel.

"We're good to go," she announced. "Oh, and Weiss? If you dare to make my little Rubes sad, I'll rip out your intestines and feed them to you."

"That escalated quickly," Blake commented as Weiss suddenly came to the realization that Yang had heard her exchange with Ruby.

"A-a-anyway," Ruby's flustered voice said amongst Weiss's embarrassed threats and incoherent words. "L-let's go!"

At those words, four girls emerged from their hiding spots, charging towards their destination.

* * *

Blake led the group's advance, blade and sheathe at her sides. The Atlesian Paladin battlesuits patrolling the area picked up their presence instantly, and two stepped forward to fend them off.

Leaping into the air and swinging her blades in a circular motion, Blake sent off two shockwaves from the tips of her weapons. The first burst against the nearest Paladin's right arm, blowing it away instantly. The second managed to bury itself into another Paladin's body, exploding and killing the pilot. Even though the battlesuit was still functional, it simply fell limp like a marionette with its strings cut.

In a shower of rose petals, Ruby charged past Blake, landing on the Paladin without its right arm. Following a series of gunshots, she launched herself into the air, bringing her scythe – and the Paladin's left arm – with her.

Before the pilot could retreat, Weiss froze the battlesuit's legs in place with a chunk of ice from Myrtenaster. As her teammates ran past the two machines that barely offered any resistance, Yang jumped up and rammed her fist into the armless suit, causing it to crash into a squad of incoming defense drones.

"STRIKE!" She cheered, firing her gauntlets at the ground to break her fall.

Seeing that the Paladins were defeated, the Faunus guards retreated, letting the robots take over; in their place, no less than fifty Atlesian Knight-200s charged in, followed closely by more Paladins. To make matters worse, unknown spider-like droids were also dispatched, and their appearance made Blake pause for a split second.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out. "Ice Flower!"

Weiss nodded, instantly setting up a series of glyphs to her side. Ruby steadied Crescent Rose by planting the blade's tip into the ground, and opened fire with the barrel right behind said glyphs.

The bullets – glowing streaks of light blue after going through the glyph – tore through the air and struck the approaching mechanic soldiers. Instead of blowing up, they burst into a cluster of ice crystals, immobilizing the target as more sprouted with each hit, attaching themselves like countless small flowers of ice.

"Freezer burn!" Ruby yelled, and Weiss summoned another glyph in the air right above her head. Yang jumped on it, using it as a foothold. The moment her boots made contact with it, the entire glyph glowed white, sending her up high into the air.

With an energetic war cry, Yang's eyes turned scarlet as she readied her fist, falling towards the group of frozen Knights. The instant she was close enough to hit them, she let loose a devastating punch.

Having been hit by an impact akin to a meteor, the Atlesian Knights were blown apart. The ice that stuck to them shattered, creating a large cloud of mist which proceeded to cover them and their foes. Now that they lost visual on the intruders, the robots stopped briefly, trying to detect them.

Making use of the pause, Team RWBY advanced, this time with Ruby in the lead. The nearest Paladin, having a pilot, launched a series of missiles which exploded blindly across the battlefield. Some even blew up their own mechs, and none reached the girls.

"Checkmate!" Ruby declared. "Right!"

Blake and Weiss broke off from the sisters, heading for the Spider Droid on their right. It was confused, but it was also too close for comfort. When it picked up heat signals approaching, the machine began firing its four cannons, albeit with poor aim due to the mist.

The large caliber bullets dispersed some mist in their wake, giving the droid a clearer visual. Blake instantly flung her weapon at it, attached to its long ribbon. It did nothing except bounce off the Spider Droid's tough armor, so she pulled it back just as it opened fire again.

Dodging the bullets or parrying them with her weapons nimbly, Blake used her Semblance to create clones of herself, further confusing the droid. Immediately after a clone was produced, a glyph would appear at Blake's feet to launch her away, avoiding the shots that end up hitting the clone instead. When the robot finally understood that firing with four cannons did nothing, the Spider Droid combined its four cannons and began charging a large blast, enough to wipe out all the enemies in front of it, regardless of how many clones Blake could produce.

Weiss, having used the time Blake bought to sneak around to the back of the Spider Droid, created a glyph underneath it that prevented it from moving off on its own. Then, with a flick of her wrists, she spun the glyph – and by extension the machine – around and made it fire its cannon at the incoming enemies instead. The first blast managed to blow up a Paladin, several Knights and an incoming Goliath.

The resulting confusion was useful; the White Fang, having decided to bring in more backup, released the Grimm they tamed to further boost their defense. However, with the defense line panicking and Grimm being taken out by the robots that were supposed to be on their side, the remaining ones either escaped or turned on their masters, no longer aiming for just the girls.

Ruby and Yang approached the final Paladin, which stood outside the mist. Ruby stopped abruptly, allowing Yang to jump up using her shoulder as a foothold. The Paladin attempted to lean back to dodge the blonde's attack, but in doing so failed to pay attention to Ruby, who was below but right in front of it as well.

In a burst of speed, Ruby rushed past the Paladin, hooking Crescent Rose around one leg and dragging it with her. Losing its balance, the Paladin fell forward, right into Yang's fist. As Yang's punch sent it flying, Ruby spun herself around using Crescent Rose, which was still hooked around the leg, and fired, launching herself into the direction she had come from. As a result, when the large suit went flying, its leg was torn off as though it had been made of paper.

Following a series of explosions, two of the Spider Droids blew each other up. Blake rolled under the last one, with Weiss summoning a glyph under herself nearby. Creating several clones as she rolled, all powered up with Dust, Blake threw her gun attached to its ribbon at Weiss, who grabbed it with her right and pulled just as she fired herself forward using her glyph. Once Blake was whisked away, the clones exploded violently, blowing up the Droid from underneath.

Landing neatly next to Ruby and Yang, Weiss threw Gambol Shroud into the air, where it was caught by Blake who proceeded to fly over their head and landing in a kneeling position a short distance in front of them.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Ruby cheered. "Ooh, ooh, team pose! Team pose!"

"Ruby," Weiss sighed, flicking her forehead as Blake went ahead. Yang chuckled and followed suit. "We don't have the time."

"Aww," Ruby whined, but she conceded, running after her teammates into the signal tower.

* * *

The inside of the tower was guarded, but it was largely just Faunus soldiers or the old Atlesian Knight-130s. Compared to the enemies outside, they were hardly a challenge. Disposing of them easily (and managing to not kill anyone), Team RWBY made their way to the top floor.

"Well, this was a breeze," Yang muttered, as they stood outside the door of the control room. "Wonder if it's going this well for JNPR."

"Yang, focus," Blake said.

Nodding to her teammates, Ruby gave the order to enter. Blake opened one half of the large doors, and Ruby pushed the other. Yang and Weiss instantly charged in, but in the middle of their warning for the people inside to put their hands up, they stopped. When Ruby and Blake entered after them, they saw why.

The room was huge, like a giant hall. Countless monitors could be seen at the far end of it, but the people who were supposed to be operating them were absent. In between Team RWBY and the monitors, however, was a kneeling figure in the middle of the absurdly large space.

As the figure rose, it could be seen that it was a large suit of armor. The design was rather primitive, and it looked like a human could wear it. However, it was certainly not manned; the giant armor was easily twice as tall as the girls, and it wielded a gigantic metal longsword that was as long as its body.

"This is bad," Weiss muttered.

As though replying to her words, the walls on their sides began making odd clanking sounds. The moment their eyes adjusted to the poor lighting of the room, they could see armors similar to the one in front of them, detaching themselves from their places on the wall. However, it was not just one or two.

There were at least twenty of them.

"We can't beat them," Blake said. "Not in a space this tight."

The hall was big, but it was ultimately far smaller than being out in the open. Being vastly outnumbered in such a space was a situation that they could not simply fight themselves out of.

"We can't give up," Ruby tightened her grip on Crescent Rose. "We're so close, and everyone's depending on us; we can't just quit now."

"Well said, sis," Yang said with a nervous laugh. "But even we'll have a hard time in a situation like this."

"Bumble-" Ruby began, but she was too slow.

The giant longsword smashed into the floor where the girls had been merely moments before. The four girls managed to evade it in time, but Weiss and Yang had jumped closer to the giant armor.

Having thrown its sword, the armor attacked using its limbs alone. In one huge stride, it closed in on Yang and sent her flying with a vicious kick, causing a sickening 'crack' as it did so. Yang barely had enough time to register her cracked ribs before she slammed into one of the pillars in the room.

At this, the other suits approached, each wielding a weapon of their own as they marched towards the center of the room. The first one did not pause either; it slammed a fist down at Weiss, who managed to roll out of the way. As Weiss got to her feet and prepared to strike back, the Giant Armor slammed the back of its closed fist into her, sending her flying into the incoming horde of armors which had their weapons ready to hack her into countless pieces.

Blake threw Gambol Shroud, firing off a shot to give it extra speed. It managed to wrap itself around Weiss's arm, and with a tug on the ribbon she managed to pull the heiress away from the murderous monsters.

Ruby was already in motion, jumping into the air to avoid a punch and using her rifle to push herself higher. Hooking Crescent Rose's blade around the armor's head, she tore it off following another series of gunshots.

Yang got up, eyes red and hair flaring like a miniature sun, just in time to see the headless armor make a lunge for Blake, narrowly missing her face. Even removing its head did not work, and there were so many more of them.

"We have to retreat!" she yelled, tasting the blood in her mouth. Her chest felt like it was on fire, and she would have dearly loved to make a pun about it, but now was not the time.

"Pull back!" Ruby yelled, running back to the team and towards the exit.

Blake nodded, making for the door while supporting a weak Yang. Ruby dashed past Weiss, stopping for a while to look back at her.

"Weiss!" she rushed to her side, supporting her just as the white-haired Huntress was about to fall. "Are you alright? Can you run?"

"Sprained my ankle," Weiss muttered, her head bleeding. It was not serious, but the blood got in one eye and she was forced to close it. "Can't walk…"

"Hold on!" Ruby folded up her weapon, and carried Weiss in her arms as she leapt towards the entrance in a burst of speed. However, just as it happened in the past with Penny, Ruby was barely able to travel far when she suddenly veered off course, crashing onto the floor miserably. Weiss tumbled out of her arms, using Myrtenaster to support herself as she got to her feet, leaning against the wall beside the door.

"Go," she said, panting as Ruby picked herself up. "I'll hold them off."

"What?!" Yang exclaimed, coughing up some blood from the effort. She and Blake were just outside the door, waiting to slam it shut once Ruby and Weiss got out. Not that it would stop those monstrosities in the least though. "Don't be stupid, Weiss! We're going to escape together!"

"No time to argue," Weiss snapped, barely keeping her balance. "Before the reinforcements come, get out of here."

"Weiss-" Blake began, but Weiss shot her a sharp glare. "… I understand."

"Wha-" Yang exclaimed, but Blake knocked her out with a blow to the back of the neck.

"Sorry," she muttered, carrying her unconscious partner over her shoulder. As much as she wanted to save Weiss, she managed to comprehend her intentions from that look in her eyes; it was a strange chemistry that had developed between them after Weiss accepted her despite her Faunus nature. As the only other level-headed person in the team, Blake made the choice they both knew was the wise one.

"Get out, Ruby," Weiss commanded, using her trump card – 'The Schnee'. Once she used that tone, Ruby always-

"Not without you!" Ruby protested, tugging on her arm in an attempt to pull her along. The suits of armors raised their swords, ready to slice them as they closed in.

Just like their first time partnering up, Ruby refused to let Weiss have her way. Back then, it was against Beowolves, and now, it was against giant suits of armor. The dolt certainly had not changed.

"Shut up and go!" Weiss screamed, pushing her away and out the door. "Just this once, listen to me and don't get in my way!

"This time, let me show you I can handle myself," she begged, tears brimming from the corner of her eyes. "This time, let me protect you instead, Ruby."

Ruby froze for a split second, spellbound by the smile flooded with sadness on Weiss's face. When that one second finally crawled by, she turned and ran. And ran. And ran.

"Goodness, always such a dolt…" Weiss let out a shaky breath as she collapsed to her knees, unable to keep herself standing anymore; after she took that attack, she had been in no condition to even move, much less escape. "And you're still as soft as ever to those silver eyes, Weiss Schnee."

Bringing up her Aura, Weiss stood against the door, using her own body as a shield. The armors attacked, bringing their weapons down again and again on her small frame, each attack bouncing off without doing damage. However, it was only a matter of time before her Aura ran out.

She could not conjure any more glyphs; she was already at her limit, and Weiss had not managed to get even a minute's rest since they began their attack. The only way she could use her Semblance now was if the glyph was already drawn beforehand, such as with a pen or even if it was carved onto the floor with Myrtenaster. However, under the never-ending flurry of blows, the Ice Queen simply had no such time to spare.

Their mission was to take over the tower, but if that was not possible, they were to destroy the main communication center on the top floor. There was a way to do that, and Weiss could take out all these walking pieces of scrap metal at the same time with that method. She just needed the right opening.

Biding her time, Weiss held on for as long her Aura would allow, before diving forward. She managed to escape through the space in between the legs of one of the armors, maneuvering towards and stopping at the center of the metallic cluster.

Surrounded by the faceless grey knights on all sides, Weiss smiled. She could feel something warm – something different from blood – flowing steadily down her cheeks as her eyes burned. She was not afraid, but she could stop those blazing trails either.

Pointing Myrtenaster towards the ceiling, Weiss let the revolver part of her rapier spin, scattering Dust down onto her like a thin veil of glitter. Her face right then, if anyone saw it, would likely have made them think that it resembled a melting ice sculpture; her exquisite features, unblemished, were marred by the presence of trickling tears that fell from her chin like sparkling diamonds.

When she first saw ice melting as a child, Weiss had thought that it was crying. Experiencing warmth far beyond its cold self, it melts, weeping as it slowly fades to nothing, unable to prevent its inevitable demise. Weiss briefly wondered if it was the same for her – if that dolt's warmth was too much for her to handle. As she wept, embracing those pointless thoughts as Ruby's face swam in and out of her mind, she found herself wanting to know:

Were these tears of sorrow, or of joy?

Slowly, her back began to glow. To be precise, the symbol on her back had begun to shine. The symbol – the logo of the Schnee Dust Company – which had always been on the back of her dress now served as her final glyph. However, since she was this close, there was no question that Weiss would be caught in it as well.

"Goodbye, Ruby," she whispered, her smile faltering.

Her tears turned to ice, and the world was enveloped in a blinding flash of white.

* * *

Ruby Rose fell to her knees, her face stricken with horror as all the color drained out of it. She looked, but refused to see, the impossible reality that had been presented to her. She stared, but refused to bear witness to, the structure that was just several meters away from her.

From the highest floor, several huge ice crystals burst through the top of the tower, spreading out as they pointed towards the sky. No matter how hard she wanted to deny it, the spectacle before Ruby's eyes refused to change. No matter how hard she tried, she could not turn away from it either.

Atop the signal tower sat a single Flower of Ice, reaching for the endless skies above.

* * *

**Okay, maybe that's not why I chose 'Ice Flower' over 'White Rose', but still… Gomen nasai.**


	15. 15 - In the Wake of Nightmares

The room was quiet, save the sobbing of a little girl. Even Zwei, the little bundle of energy and source of joy and laughter, could not do anything besides whine pitifully at the sight of his owner.

Ruby was curled into a ball on her bed, trying valiantly to stop her tears from trickling down her face. Luckily for her, the dorm room was empty at the moment, so even when she failed, no one but Zwei would notice. As long as the little glutton did not betray her and tell on her to Yang, Ruby's crying would remain a secr-

"Ruby?"

Flinching as though she had just received an electric shock, Ruby instantly bit back her tears and pretended to be asleep. It had not worked on Weiss before, but she did not stop trying.

"Ruby," Weiss said, sounding unnaturally gentle. "Why are you sulking?"

"I-I'm not sulking," Ruby lied.

"Is it because we failed the mission?" Weiss asked. Ruby's shoulders drooped at that, in the way they always did whenever Weiss saw through her lie (which meant every time). Weiss was either so good at detecting lies that she was able to familiarize herself with this subtle movement, or Ruby was the world's worst liar. Or both.

"Where're Yang and Blake?" Ruby asked, still not turning to look at Weiss. Whenever her lying failed, her backup plan – change the topic – was activated. Whether or not it would work on Weiss was another matter altogether, though.

"In the cafeteria. Now answer my question," Weiss switched to her trademark 'The Schnee' tone, causing Ruby to whine sadly. "Copying Zwei won't get you anywhere, Ruby Rose."

"… Yeah," Ruby replied reluctantly. "I was."

"The headmaster wasn't mad, you know?" Weiss asked, her voice losing its harsh edge. "A little disappointed, sure, but everyone messes up from time to time, don't they? Don't beat yourself up over a little blunder."

Ruby did not reply. Sighing heavily, Weiss climbed onto the safety hazard that was Ruby's bunk bed. She put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, making the younger girl jump in the process. Even though she had found it amusing the first few times, Ruby's excessively frightened reactions were starting to annoy Weiss. As a matter of fact, they were even starting to hurt her feelings.

"Why did we fail the mission, Ruby?" Weiss asked, trying to keep her tone as light as possible. "I'm not blaming you; just answer me truthfully."

"B-because I didn't pay attention to my surroundings…" Ruby mumbled.

"Why weren't you paying attention?"

"Because I was distracted…" Ruby admitted.

"What distracted you?" Weiss asked. She knew very well what the answer was, but she had to make Ruby say it.

"… Weiss…" Ruby replied, forcing that one simple word out of her mouth.

"We failed the mission because you saved me," Weiss finished for her. "So if someone has to take the blame, it'll be me. Or would you prefer to just let me die?"

"N-no!" Ruby instantly shouted, spinning around to face her partner with a mortified expression on her face. The tear tracks were faint, but they were still visible on her cheeks as she made eye contact with Weiss for the first time since the mission ended. "I-I wouldn't-"

"Then there's no need to mope," Weiss patted her dolt of a leader's head gently. "You did what was right. I'm the one who needs to get stronger so I don't get in your way next time. It's not your fault, Ruby, so don't harp on it, okay?"

"T-that's not-" Ruby said, not knowing what to say. Weiss had never been the kind of person to call herself weak, especially not in front of Ruby; she had expected the heiress to tell her that she did not need help, and that she could have handled herself perfectly without Ruby getting in her way. What the young leader had ended up hearing, however, was the exact opposite.

"Someday, I'll protect you instead," Weiss said, offering Ruby a gentle smile. "I won't make you look out for me all the time; I'll become stronger for you, okay?"

"W-Weiss?" Ruby asked timidly, unsure of anything at this point.

"So don't worry about everything by yourself," Weiss said, unfazed. "You're the one and only leader of this team, but it doesn't mean you're the only person who can bear the burden and responsibilities. We'll always be here for you, so rely on us from time to time, alright?"

"… You promise?" Ruby asked shyly, looking at Weiss with her pitiful puppy-dog eyes.

Weiss's heart skipped a beat. Someday, she was going to learn how to resist those eyes. And that face. And her leader's cuteness.

"I promise," she replied. "That's what the best teammate and partner ever would do, isn't it?"

* * *

A soft, gentle crackling crept into her ears, accompanied by a scent she had become familiar with after so long. She could feel a nostalgic sense of warmth crawling across her fingertips, proceeding to cloak the rest of her body with its comfortable yet overbearing presence.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was the dimly lit, rocky ceiling. Then, a very familiar face swam into view.

"Blake?" Yang said, coughing dryly; just talking seemed to take so much effort right now.

"How're you feeling?" Blake asked, feeling Yang's forehead with her hand. "Don't move too much; I was only able to give you basic first-aid, so you need as much rest as you can get if you want to recover."

"My boobs hurt," Yang joked, grimacing at the pain in her chest. Her ribcage was not doing very well, but it at least felt less painful than before. "Guess that's what happens to women with large breasts, huh?"

She chuckled weakly, but seeing as Blake did not join in Yang eventually gave up. She looked around, trying to find something else to talk about, only to fail miserably and succumb to the dreadful silence.

"Jaune and Pyrrha are out gathering information," Blake informed her. "Their mission was a success, but Ren and Nora disappeared somewhere, and they haven't been able to reach them since. They're trying to figure out where they might have gone or who could've taken them."

"I see…" Yang replied, staring at the ceiling for a few more minutes. "Say, Blake, I had this weird dream just now. I dreamt that we were on a mission together, and Weiss sacrificed herself to protect us from some giant suits of armor. We actually went with her orders and left her behind. Crazy, isn't it?"

Blake stayed silent, her fists tightening on her lap. Yang did not look at her, but the smile on her face was fading bit by bit.

"Hey, Blake," Yang said, the cheeriness draining out of her voice. "Aren't you going to tell me 'that's just a stupid dream'?"

"Would you believe me if I did?" Blake retorted gravely.

"Guess not," Yang conceded. "But if you said it, I'd believe anything," she added with a playful wink. "Weiss is… gone, isn't she."

Blake nodded, her body trembling as she uttered not a single word.

"Blakey?" Yang called out, worry etched clearly across her face.

"I left her behind," Blake said, her voice stricken with grief and remorse. "I left Weiss to die… She was my friend, and I left her to die…"

"What choice did you have?" Yang asked. "If we stayed behind, we would all have died. You made the right decision, Blake; it's what Weiss wanted, wasn't it?"

"She was a close friend," Blake buried her face in her hands, fighting back the urge to cry. "She was someone close to me, but I just let her die… Someone important is dead because of me… again…"

Ignoring her body's screams, Yang got up and put her hands firmly on Blake's shoulders, holding her tightly. Blake did not meet her eyes, but her trembling did lessen a little.

"It's not your fault," Yang said. She knew of Blake's secret – the dark secret of her past that no one else on her team knew – and how it still haunted her, particularly after the night the White Fang attacked Beacon. Now that she believed herself to be responsible for Weiss's death, Blake's mind was sure to wander to dark places. Places that Yang would never let her sink into. Places she did not even want to think about. "Don't blame yourself. If you hadn't stopped me and brought me out of there, we'd all have died. You saved us, Blakey. Don't forget that."

Pulling Blake close, Yang embraced her partner, ignoring the fire that erupted in her ribcage as she did so. Blake was sobbing, but she was steadily regaining control over her tears; in that aspect, she was the strongest amongst her teammates, who wore their hearts on their sleeves. However, she was not capable of turning her heart to stone – a fact proven by the blazing hot trails across her cheeks.

"It's not the same as back then," Yang insisted. "You're not the same person as back then, either. Keep telling yourself that."

Blake nodded, but did not stop her sobbing immediately. Listening to her partner's shaky breathing as the Faunus desperately tried to regain control, Yang unconsciously clenched her fists.

She felt despicable; without any experience remotely similar to what Blake went through, there was no way she could understand Blake's feelings. Despite that, she spoke as if she knew, with words of comfort that surely held no meaning. Despite being the big sister figure, she was unable to alleviate the worries of her own partner.

"You know…" Blake muttered, not moving from her place in Yang's arms. "I expected this conversation to go the other way, with you throwing a fit because I left Weiss behind and me trying to calm you down."

"Sorry, but you don't get to be the big sis," Yang replied, forcing out a smile. "That's my job. Besides, you can't expect me to get angry at my little kitty cat, can you?"

"Way to ruin the mood, Yang," Blake sighed, but she was smiling as well. Her smile, however, was far more genuine than Yang's had been.

"I don't think so," Yang replied, the grin slowly sliding off her face. "Say, Blake…"

"What is it?" Blake asked. From that tone, she could guess what Yang was going to say, but she pretended not to know; she did not want to answer that question after all.

"How's Ruby doing?"

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter!**

**The flashback in the front was supposed to be an extra chapter, and then it was supposed to be tied in with a chapter about Ruby, but I figured these two needed some time in the spotlight. Besides, after the last two, I figured you guys needed a breather chapter here.**

**Next chapter will answer Yang's question, and will show a bit more of the consequences of losing Weiss. I'll try to get it done as soon as I can. Till then!**


	16. 16 - Red Like Roses

**Hello and welcome to chapter 16! **

**First of all, good job making it this far. Next, brace yourself.**

**Finally, for those who think that Weiss is dead…**

* * *

"It's colder than it looks, isn't it?"

Ignoring his partner's complaints, Alvin sliced away the chunk of ice that had been in his way with his sword. It was bad enough that they had to come here in the first place; he did not need the whining to worsen his day further.

"Whoa," he whispered, staring into the large room that was almost entirely filled with ice.

No less than twenty giant suits of armor were frozen in place, weapons drawn and gathering towards the center of the room. None of them moved, but Alvin was sure he had seen a couple struggle within the ice.

"We're not gonna make it all the way there," he sighed, straining his eyes to try and look at the control panel at the back of the room. "Too much ice in here. The machinery's probably all frozen up anyway."

"Well, let's get the hell outta- wait, what's that?"

"What's what?" Alvin asked, sounding very irritated. "It's called ice, you retard."

But when he saw where his partner was pointing, he shut up. He could not see it clearly from where he was, but it was clearly no suit of armor.

It looked like a person.

"This wasn't part of the plan," Alvin muttered, slashing his way towards where the suits of armor were gathering. "What in the name of…?"

"Who's that?" his partner asked, staring at the person – a human girl – trapped in the ice. Even while frozen, her beauty was unblemished, preserved in an everlasting block of stopped time. The only things that might have marred her beauty were the two trails of tears across her cheeks, frozen in place like the girl and the world around her.

"How can you not know?" Alvin asked incredulously. "That's Weiss Schnee, idiot."

* * *

Jaune heaved a sigh of relief as he took off the fake Collar around his neck. That annoying piece of metal, now that it was no longer life-threatening, was just a pain in the neck. Literally.

"Today was wasted effort again," Pyrrha sighed. She looked just as beautiful even with the obvious lack of sleep and food, but her usual composure was now nowhere to be seen.

"It's not wasted, Pyrrha," Jaune corrected. "At least we know now that those people don't know. It just increases our chances of finding someone who knows."

Pyrrha opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it in the end. Jaune's misplaced optimism was certainly anything but realistic, but it was all that kept him (and by extension, Pyrrha herself) going even now.

"Yeah, you're right," she managed. "We'll have to move fast tomorrow, though; Yang said that we'll be moving to their contacts' hideout soon."

"What's wrong with the Lighthouse?" Jaune asked.

"It…" Pyrrha hesitated. "It doesn't have the glyphs' protection anymore, so it's not really safe."

"I… see…" was all Jaune said, in a voice robbed of any and all energy he might have had. In the end, he never did manage to confess to Weiss, and now he would never be able to.

"S-speaking of which," Pyrrha said nervously. "W-we have to get back to training too; we're raiding Beacon soon, and we'll need all the preparation we can get to… you know… prepare…"

She trailed off upon seeing Jaune's distant expression. She could not blame him, either; she had hardly any intention of fighting either after losing Ren, Nora and Weiss. Right now, even though she appeared to be combat ready, Pyrrha had never been more insecure in her life.

Even though she had hated it, she found a small part of herself longing for solitude – the one thing she had gotten used to, then tossed aside, and now faced with once again.

Before Beacon, she had been the unrivaled champion. She had been the unmatched Number One, whose skills were so superior that 'second place' was merely a formality to acknowledge the next best, regardless of the huge difference between their actual abilities. No one could be her equal, and thus she never had one. In the end, there was no one who could look at her evenly in the eye, like a fellow peer. Like a teammate. Like a friend.

She had come to Beacon harboring the fears that she would have to be alone again, but he proved her wrong. Some called him ignorant, but Jaune Arc was someone who saw her for who she was – just a normal girl. To Pyrrha, that was more than enough; to the champion whose superiority led to solitude, he was the first ever friend she had made.

She had wished for those days to last. She had wanted to be by him, and be by the teammates she would entrust her life with. She had said goodbye to her own solitude back then, and perhaps she had never wanted to see it again. But now that she knew how much it hurt to lose, Pyrrha could not help but want to run and hide. Compared to the excruciating pain in her chest, wallowing in the depths of solitude seemed like a far better option. Maybe it would have been better to have never made friends in the first place.

"Jaune," she said, breaking the silence with a voice on the verge of cracking. His expression – his pained, despaired expression – was too much for her to bear. Losing control of her emotions, Pyrrha once again let her heart take over. "I-"

"There's Ruby," Jaune pointed out flatly, gesturing towards a familiar red hood in the distance. "I'll go talk to her a bit. Head back without me, Pyrrha."

Without listening to the rest of Pyrrha's words, he walked off. Jaune had always hit it off better with Ruby, and the latter was far better acquainted with Weiss, so it was no surprise that he preferred to talk with her rather than Pyrrha. Even though she accepted that, even though she knew that Jaune did not see Ruby as a potential romantic interest, she could not help but feel jealous at how close they were.

"Please…" she begged in a hushed whisper, speaking to no one in particular. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but she was unable to stem their flow. She had been glad that he did not treat her like a special existence, so why was that fact hurting her so much right now? "Just a little… notice me…"

Left alone once more, the fragile Huntress wept.

* * *

"Ruby?"

Ruby hiccupped, turning around slowly to face the blonde. If Jaune looked bad, then Ruby was downright terrible; her eyes were swollen and red, and top of that bore extremely deep dark circles. Her face was sunken, and glaring tear tracks, indistinguishable from old and new, scarred her cheeks. Her lips, dry and unmoving, just froze in place without uttering a single word.

"W-what're you doing out here?" Jaune asked, momentarily caught off-guard by Ruby's appearance.

Ruby did not reply. Remaining completely silent, she stared lifelessly at Jaune without looking at him, as though he had not asked a question at all.

"Let's go back," Jaune tried, managing a weak, unconvincing smile.

"Go… back?" Ruby repeated. "Go back… to who?"

Jaune flinched. He had not expected that reply, and was by no means prepared for it. Instead, he just stood there, stunned and speechless, absorbing the meaning behind those words.

Team RWBY was down to three, and JNPR was down to two. On top of that, the Lighthouse was not safe anymore. Did they really have anywhere to return to like this?

"To Yang," he said at last. "To Blake, to Pyrrha and to me. And when they return, to Ren and Nora as well."

"Then what about Weiss?" Ruby asked. There was no hostility in her question; rather, there was not a single ounce of emotion left in that voice anymore. "She's alone. Who'll she return to?"

"I…" Jaune paused. He had no idea what to say, and if he said something bad there would be no taking it back. He had to think it through, but what on Remnant could he say? "That's why we have to protect the place she once belonged to."

Those words struck Ruby hard; her eyes widened in shock, as though just realizing that Weiss could no longer return. The tears resurfaced on the edge of her eyes, threatening to cascade down her cheeks again.

"M-my great-great-grandfather fought in The War," Jaune went on. "The weapon he used was passed down all the way to me, but that wasn't all; he also left us his fighting spirit."

Ruby barely registered those words. The day she and Jaune first met, and was introduced to his Crocea Mors, seemed so far away now, and if anything, it felt far more painful; it was the day she first met Weiss as well after all.

"I heard a lot of stories about him," Jaune explained. "I've heard of how he lost many of his comrades on the battlefield. Friends, rivals… it didn't matter; no matter how close they were, they died. My great-great-grandfather lost much more than all of us combined, and he cried, that's for sure, but he kept fighting. Do you know why?

"I heard that he fought for those who died as well," he said, kneeling down in front of Ruby, who was rubbing one eye in an attempt to stop her tears. "To protect those who survived, and to protect the place they all shared – living or dead… People die, and we can't help but feel sad, but we still have to protect the moments we shared together; if we don't, we'd have destroyed those happy memories with our own hands, right?"

Ruby met his eyes for the first time, and almost gasped. Jaune's voice had been steady, and his smile had been weak but encouraging, but tears were flowing down his face nonetheless.

"I miss them too, Ruby," he admitted, wiping his with the back of his hand. "But right now, we have to beat the enemies and save the world they wanted to protect. Can you do it, fearless leader of Team RWBY?"

"Jaune…" Ruby muttered. "You still say the cheesiest things with a straight face…"

"Guess Yang's rubbing off on you," Jaune chuckled, pulling her up to her feet. "Come on, let's head back; Yang'll be worried sick when she wakes up and you're not there."

"Gimme a minute," Ruby replied. "I need to wash my face a little. You head back without me."

"Fair enough," Jaune nodded, turning and heading back in the direction he had come from.

He had no idea it would happen. No one saw it coming. And when it did, no one knew what to do anymore.

* * *

"Say, Blake…"

"What is it?" Blake asked, looking at her partner.

"What's it like to kill?" Yang asked. "I mean, when we invade Beacon, we might end up… you know. Is there any way to prepare ourselves mentally or something?"

"I don't know," Blake replied. "For me, it was… unexpected. It caught me off-guard. It just happened, and when I realized it I just sort of… lost it and…"

"It's okay," Yang comforted her. "You don't have to say it. Sorry for asking."

"No, your thinking is correct," Blake said, shaking her head lightly. "For me, I wasn't prepared so I lost control once I caught on, but if you go into battle prepared to kill, maybe it'll help you keep your cool. Just maybe…"

"What happens when you aren't prepared?" Yang asked, her voice lacking the confidence and energy it usually had.

"You snap," Blake answered simply. "If you've never killed anyone before, you become so scared that you lose control. You fear everything – yourself, for killing, and others because you think they're going to harm you for what you did. You can't think properly in all that and it just overwhelms-"

"Blake," Yang cut across her sharply, keeping her gaze firm but gentle. "That's enough. Stop… Please."

Blake nodded wordlessly. Nothing but silence followed afterwards, but within the lack of verbal exchange, much was said between them with an uncanny eloquence.

* * *

Ruby let the cold water crawl down her face, drip down her chin, and disappear into the flowing river below. As she knelt at the side of the river, she paused, staring at her own reflection on the clear surface.

"Such a terrible look…" she muttered out loud. What would Weiss have said if she could see her now? "Not ladylike at all, huh…"

But she was no longer around to say those words. She was no longer around to see her, to reprimand her, to flick her forehead, or to kiss her anymore. She was gone. She was gone, and she was never coming back.

Just like mo-

"No!" she cried, slamming a fist onto the tranquil water surface. It sank right through and crashed painfully on the rocky river bed, leaving a brilliant burst of diamond-like droplets in its wake.

Shaking her head violently, she tried ridding those thoughts from her mind. Some part of her was clear on what she had to do, but the rest of her was unable and unwilling to comply. As much as she wanted to focus on the mission at hand, she could not just stop thinking about Weiss; for some reason, it felt like without her there, Ruby would forget about her if she just stopped thinking about her for even a second.

"Um… are you alright?"

Even though it was nothing like Weiss's voice, Ruby looked up swiftly, desperation brimming in her eyes. When she saw the cat ears, however, all the hope that had resided in those silver irises vanished instantly.

A Faunus. A young cat Faunus girl, no older than Ruby was, had appeared. Even though Weiss's glyphs were supposed to prevent outsiders from making it this far, a Faunus had managed to come here.

"What's going on?" she asked, fear and confusion evident in her voice. "Why… Here… Weiss's glyphs…"

_Where's Weiss? _

Regardless of whether they were friend or foe, people had managed to get past Weiss's glyphs. She had to find her partner and confirm her safety, and have her set up a new-

_Weiss isn't here._

"What's wrong?" the stranger asked. "Are you lost?"

_Weiss is dead._

"You don't have a Collar, so are you a Faunus?"

_The White Fang killed her._

Reality struck her like a tidal wave, crushing her minute being with its massive, overwhelming force. Her whole body shook and she could not move, instead rendered unable to anything besides watch the girl approach.

_The Faunus killed her._

"Dad!" the Faunus called. "There's a lost child here!"

_She's a Faunus._

Her fingers flew, and her hands moved swiftly. Ruby's ears barely registered the metallic clicking sounds from Crescent Rose, and her panicked and confused mind was unable to process it anyway.

_They killed Weiss. They killed Weiss. They killed Weiss._

Someone was in pain. Someone young, and probably a girl, was suffering. She might have been begging for it to stop – for _something _to stop, but Ruby did not know what.

Warm liquid splashed onto her face, which was odd since the river had been cold. Her vision filled with red, but it was not the red from her rose petals; it was a red that splattered, flowed and gushed into the air.

Dull impacts shook her palms, and when she finally came to, the world had gone silent. The girl who had been in pain moments ago was nowhere to be seen or head, but for some reason Ruby was kneeling in a pool of something warm. Something fresh.

When she first saw her, she wanted to scream. The cat Faunus from seconds ago was on the ground, staring at something, something other than the sky, something far off that no one else could see. Her clothes, stained with a glistening scarlet hue, were torn here and there by something sharp.

"A-are you…" Ruby whispered, lips trembling from the effort. "Hey, are you...?"

_She's dead._

Then she noticed. She noticed Crescent Rose's blade buried in the girl's body, its red frame covered in something of a deeper, darker shade. And holding its handle, trembling and soaked in blood, were her own hands.

_I killed her._

As the realization slowly started to hit her, Ruby's eyes widened. The young girl's face, stricken with fatigue and grief, were slowly painted with a fresh wave of shock and despair.

_I killed someone._

The words – her thoughts – howled in her mind, tearing at her consciousness and ripping pieces of her sanity. The world was spinning, and nothing seemed to come into focus anymore; it was just chaos, and nothing but that chaos.

"What's wrong, T- w-what…"

Reinforcements. They were here to kill her, for what she did. She killed someone, so now she had to pay the price. She would end up like Weiss, without a place to return to, dead at the hands of the enemies they had to defeat.

With a blood-curdling battle cry, Ruby disappeared. In her wake, a swirl of rose petals danced, and they were stained with blood before they even touched the ground.

* * *

Crescent Rose danced gracefully and elegantly, cutting through the air without pause and sending countless droplets of dazzling scarlet into the air. It moved swiftly and fiercely, seeming screeching with a bloodlust of its own. The more it buried its fangs into something, the more fervent it became, until at some point it became impossible to distinguish it from the masses of red – petals and blood alike.

Ruby panted, kneeling as the world around her cried. The heavens wept in tears of bright crimson, drenching the earth with the color of Life. The color of raw, pulsating despair.

Beneath her, a pool of dark red spread steadily, staining the lush celadon grass with its hue. It spread unevenly, looking less like a circle and more like-

_I killed them._

Her entire body was shaking violently, and her weak, powerless fingers could no longer even hold her scythe. Beneath her, as though paying her suffering no heed, the crimson flower continued to expand. It made no sound, but its presence was overbearing; even in this desolate void of thundering silence, it managed to flood it with the rancid odor of death. Within that space of violence and despair, she opened her mouth.

_I'm a murderer._

Kneeling atop the blooming rose she had carved onto the world with her own hands, Ruby Rose screamed.

* * *

**To clarify, Nora is dead. I'm having Weiss play a different role in this story, so yeah… For now, she's the one alive but believed dead while Nora is the one dead but believed alive. See what I did there?**

**Probably too late for this reveal, though. But if you're still reading this, here's a thumbs up to you! Till next chapter!**


	17. 17 - Madness

**Welcome to chapter 17! **

**To clarify something mentioned by a reviewer, Weiss was supposed to die, yes, and I did change the story a little and brought her back instead. However, it's not because the readers said things about her death; it's because I wanted to lengthen the story and expand on the setting and characters. There will still be deaths of main characters from this point onwards, so be prepared.**

**Thanks for asking, and I hope I managed to clear your doubts. And now, let's move on:**

* * *

A shrill, reverberating cry pierced the air, carrying with it the lucid echoes of despair. A voice could be heard, but it was dismembered and distant, making it unrecognizable yet familiar at the same time.

Jaune shivered. He had been caught off guard by that scream, sure, but it was not the unexpected sound that frightened him; it was the fact that he thought he recognized that voice.

"Ruby…?" he muttered under his breath, turning towards the direction said girl had walked off in earlier.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha's voice came from somewhere behind him. "Did you hear that?"

"Y-yeah," Jaune replied, somewhat shaken. "I'll go check it out. Just in case, you go call Blake and Yang."

"Understood," Pyrrha nodded. "Be careful, Jaune."

But said blonde was already tearing through the trees in search of the source of the scream.

* * *

It hurt. It hurt so terribly she thought her chest might explode.

_What's going on?_

Nothing would come into focus anymore, even though her vision was still clear. The more she looked at the masses of red fluttering through the air, dripping from her fingertips and crawling along the ground, the more her palpitations skyrocketed.

A sharp, ringing voice flooded the space around her, as though trying to crush the helpless girl trapped within it. She could not tell who was screaming, and she could not understand why, but it felt so familiar it was frightening.

It sounded like her own voice.

Was she the one screaming? Was she the one hollering, with a roar that tore viciously at her throat? Was she the one so utterly terrified that the screaming just would not stop?

Her mind bursting with unanswered questions and swimming in guilt, she did not pay attention to her body as it rose. She did not register the fact that she had closed her mouth, ending the screams. She did not catch the words of an unknown man, who had apparently wandered into this space uninvited.

She had not realized until it was too late that she had attacked him.

Once more, Crescent Rose slid out of her blood-stained hands and onto the ground. Ruby Rose, too, fell to her knees again, staring at her trembling hands in transfixed horror.

A short distance away, Jaune groaned. Fresh blood was leaking from the deep cut on his cheek, and gushed from the huge one across his chest. He opened his mouth to say something – anything – to calm her down, but his body refused to obey.

"Ru…by…" he managed, reaching out towards her.

Ruby flinched, backing away from his hand as though it was a loaded gun. She fumbled with her words, spouting incoherent words alongside a stunned apology.

"Jaune…" she gasped. "Oh my god… Jaune… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"

"Jaune!" Pyrrha's exclamation drowned out said blonde's words as she dropped her weapons, ran over to him and lifted him gently. "What happened? What's- Ruby? What happened to you? Were you attacked?"

_It's my fault._

"I'm sorry…" Ruby whimpered, her lips shaking terribly. She wanted to run, she wanted to back away, but her limbs were so devoid of strength it was surprising that her arms could even support her body. "I'm sorry…"

"Pyrrha…" Jaune wheezed. "I'm fine. Go help Ruby…"

As he said those words, he closed his eyes. Pyrrha panicked for a split second, but a moment later Jaune's body began giving off a faint white glow. It seemed weak and it did not get any brighter, but as it enveloped his body the wounds he had sustained began to heal.

"I'm fine," he repeated, slowly getting to his feet. "Ruby's in shock. Let's get her back in the Lighthouse."

"What about the attacker?" Pyrrha asked. "Where'd the attacker go?"

"I'll explain later," Jaune snapped. "Hurry, before someone comes."

Right on cue, Yang and Blake arrived on the scene. Yang froze at the sheer amount of blood in front of her, but Blake only paused for a moment before sprinting to where Ruby was.

"Ruby," she said firmly, though her voice was shaky; she had no evidence to support it, but if Ruby was really the one who caused the bloodbath around her, then she had to bring her back to her senses before she lost it for good. "Ruby. Look at me. It's Blake. It's your teammate, Blake Belladonna. No one's going to hurt you anymore."

Ruby, whose eyes were still wide with fear, nodded stiffly. Her body was utterly frozen, so she could do nothing except let Blake's strong grip bring sensation back to her numbed skin.

"It's my fault…" Ruby muttered shakily. "I killed them… I attacked Jaune… It's all my fault…"

"It's not your fault, Ruby," Blake affirmed her. "You were just scared. They had it coming. They-" she paused, clearly reluctant to continue that thought, but she had to alleviate Ruby's fears. She had to tell her that her actions were justified, no matter how much of a lie it would be. "They were Faunus. They had it coming. They could have been with the White Fang, so you got scared. There's nothing wrong with what you did."

Ruby's ragged breathing slowly calmed down, and the young girl finally relaxed a little as she listened to Blake's words. Blake almost heaved a sigh of relief, but then she felt Ruby tense up again.

"Ru-" she began.

Ruby wrung herself from Blake's grip, scurrying away from her teammate with tears in her eyes. Before she knew it, Crescent Rose was back in her hands, its gleaming red blade screaming for more blood.

Her mind was a maelstrom of unclear thoughts and panicked screams, all crumpled into a small space without an exit. Nothing was coming into focus, and whatever composure she had mustered was dissipating as each agonizing second crawled by. Right now, the immediate thoughts demanding her attention were:

_She's a Faunus._

_She's with the White Fang._

And as her fingers tightened around the Grim Reaper's weapon, seemingly taking shape from the blood of its victims, those thoughts converged into one:

_She's the enemy._

Driven by guilt and fear, Ruby blindly obeyed that thought like it was an absolute command.

* * *

When Blake registered Ruby's scream, the crimson girl was already in front of her, eyes pulsating with madness and despair. She managed to duck just in time, but the blade still managed to cut off a few strands of hair, scattering them into the air.

Blake backed away from Ruby with a somersault, but her leader was faster; with a shower of rose petals, Ruby instantly caught up to Blake, bringing Crescent Rose to the Faunus's waist. Unable to evade in time, Blake braced herself for impact – impact that would cleave her body cleanly in two.

But it never came. Before it could make contact, Ruby's weapon flew away from Blake as though repelled by an unseen force. However, it did not manage to strike the weapon out of her hands, and only succeeded in pushing her back a little.

"Yang!" Pyrrha called out, her hand outstretched. She had managed to save Blake with her Semblance, but she was not going to make it if she were to draw her weapon now.

Yang, who had her weapons ready, leapt into the fray. Firing her gauntlets at the ground, she dived into the resulting cloud of debris and grabbed Blake.

"Leave her to me," she said, her usual cheeriness nowhere to be heard. Then, turning towards the direction of her frenzied sister, she raised her voice. "Ruby! You are _so_ ground, young lady!"

She may have intended to make a joke, or she may have panicked and just said something random, but her voice was filled with unease. No one blamed her; she was facing her own sister in combat. The objective was of course to merely disarm Ruby and prevent her from killing anyone else, and Yang – Ruby's most frequent training partner – would be the best person for that job. However, it did not change the fact that she would have to fight her little sister – her family – for real.

With a frustrated cry, Yang's hair glowed gold as though burning, and her lilac eyes flared red. Charging out of the debris, she slammed her fist at Crescent Rose, intending to knock it-

Ruby reacted swiftly, disappearing from her line of sight and causing Yang's fists to hit nothing but rose petals. She got behind her easily, but once again her attack was pushed away by Pyrrha's Semblance.

Taking advantage of the opening, Yang leapt towards Ruby. She raised her fist again, but this time she could not swing it; unlike before, she inadvertently glanced at Ruby's face this time, and the very sight of her sister, lost and scared like the little girl she was, made her pause. Instead, she grabbed on to Crescent Rose's handle, not wrestling it away or allowing Ruby to yank it away from her.

"Drop it, Ruby," she said firmly, but it ended up sounding more like pleading. "Please. Just drop it."

The gentle voice seemed to have struck a chord in Ruby's heart, and the face in front of her seemed to clear her mind. She just stood there, speechless and confused, staring at Yang for a few moments.

"… Yang…?" she whispered, as though uncertain if she was an illusion or the real thing. A faint glimmer of hope sparked in her eyes, flickering weakly in the sea of despair. "I-is it… really you…?"

"The one and only," Yang replied, putting on a warm smile as her hair and eyes returned to normal. "It's all over now, Ruby. There's no need to be afraid anymore."

Ruby's lips quivered, and her shaky hands released her weapon. Yang let it fall to the ground with a dull thud, and immediately pulled Ruby into a tight hug.

Nothing was said, and Ruby just stood there, stunned. She did not reply to Yang's gesture, but her whole body was shaking like a leaf in the chilly autumn wind.

"I'm here for you," Yang whispered, stroking Ruby's hair. "It's okay now."

Before Yang could say anything else, Ruby's wails flooded the air. Like a broken dam, endless streams blazed their trails down from her silver eyes as the girl bawled her heart out, screaming and hollering till her throat burned.

Even then, Ruby Rose did not stop crying.

* * *

**Sorry it took so long, but now that I'm back this story'll keep going. Of course, if you have any questions, please don't hold back!**

**Happy new year, dear readers, and see you next chapter!**


	18. 18 - Words

Jaune sighed, tossing the Scoll in his hands away without caring where it might land. Too much stuff had happened in the last couple of hours, and he did not need this crap right now.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha called out. "What's wrong?"

"Got a call," he replied flatly, touching the scar on his cheek absentmindedly. It had failed to heal properly, and now he was stuck with it. "Apparently the attack on Beacon's going to be tomorrow morning. If we don't go with them, we'll have to get there by ourselves without backup."

"Then why don't we just stay here?" Pyrrha asked. "They have more than enough people to beat the White Fang there; our presence or lack thereof won't make a difference."

"I know," Jaune agreed, nodding slowly. "But I can't just sit back and let someone else take care of it. You should know that, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha said nothing as she looked away, unable to refute those words. She knew very well what kind of person Jaune Arc was, and it was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. Even though the right choice was to convince him otherwise, and possibly saving their lives in the process, Pyrrha just could not do it.

"But what'll we do?" she asked. "We're the only ones who can actually fight right now. You can't possibly-"

"I am," Jaune cut across her sharply. "We're going with them, but it'll just be the two of us."

"Are you serious?" Pyrrha asked incredulously. "You're just going to keep this from them?"

"Yes," Jaune replied fiercely. "I can't let them walk into a death trap like that, Pyrrha! They'll just lose their lives and-"

"That's not for you to decide."

Interrupted in the middle of his outburst, Jaune turned hastily and came almost face-to-face with a rather frustrated-looking Blake, who had her arms crossed across her chest.

"You shouldn't underestimate a Faunus's hearing," she sighed, walking in on the conversation. "And you shouldn't be making our decisions for us.

"You're not the only one on edge here," she added, just as Jaune opened his mouth again. "But that doesn't make it alright for you to get all whiny about it. You're the only man here, so act like one and keep it together. We can decide what to do with our own lives, thank you very much."

Far too tired to retort, Jaune sat on the floor, leaning against the cold stone wall. Pyrrha, looking equally if not more stressed, walked over to Blake.

"Are they…?" she began.

"I don't know," Blake replied. "Ruby's asleep now and Yang's with her, but she hasn't said a single word. I'm going to go get them some food."

"I see," Pyrrha muttered. "Blake, about tomorrow…"

"It's fine," Blake shook her head. "You don't have to say anything. I'll talk to Yang about it and let you guys know by morning. And…"

She leaned closer to Pyrrha and whispered a question in her ear, making sure that Jaune could not hear it:

"Are you fine with not telling him before you go?"

She did not wait to hear Pyrrha's reply, which was fortunate since the red-haired warrior had none to give.

* * *

"I got you something to eat," Blake informed her partner, putting down a plate of food next to said blonde. There was no reply, though it was not as if she had been expected one to begin with.

"Weiss…" Ruby mumbled in her sleep.

"You hear that?" Yang asked, smiling bitterly as she stroked her sister's hair. "I'm not the one she wants to see."

"Yang," Blake said, but paused when she realized she did not know what to say.

"She used to follow me around everywhere," Yang reminisced. "I was worried that she'd become too dependent on me, so I was glad whenever I graduated since it gave her two years to make friends on her own. When she got accepted by Beacon early, I was happy of course, but I was also kind of disappointed because of that. But then she met Weiss.

"Unlike a certain then-antisocial ninja cat, Weiss spoke to Ruby normally," she added, but neither of them laughed. "I was really happy when they became partners, but as the days went by I realized _I_ was the one feeling lonely. There were even times I felt that Weiss was taking Ruby away from me."

"I know," Blake said, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder. "We had a long talk about that, and you-"

"I'm a terrible person, aren't I?" Yang asked, a thin layer of tears across her lilac irises. "After all that's happened, all I'm thinking about is myself."

"Terrible?" Blake asked incredulously, surprising Yang with her tone. "You think that's bad? Do you know what I've done, Yang? If you're terrible, then what am I?"

Yang's eyes widened as she recalled the dark secret Blake had told her. It was something carved so deeply into Blake's soul that Yang could not believe she had forgotten about it for even a split second.

"You know what I did," Blake went on agitatedly. "You know what kind of monster I am. Do you really think just being a little selfish is 'terrible'?"

"Blake, I-" Yang began.

"Do you know what I had to say to Ruby?" Blake cut across her viciously. "I told her the Faunus she murdered had it coming because of their species! They were Faunus like I am, but I said they deserved to die because of who they were! You think you're terrible? What on Remnant does that make me, Yang?!"

Normally, Yang would have understood. Everyone was on edge, and she and Blake were no exemptions. It was only natural for Blake to snap, and Yang – as her partner and friend – would have accepted that and tried to calm her down. But right now, she was equally stressed out, if not more.

And for a split moment, she snapped.

"I don't know, okay?!" She screamed. "And I don't care! I don't give a damn about them or what you freaking did and said! My sister's just killed a family and I can't do shit about it! She's not dead, Blake! Your family is long gone but mine is still alive, right now, suffering and I can't do anything but watch! Do you really think you have it rough right now?!"

In the deafening silence that followed her words, Yang finally registered the words she had just blurted, along with the look of transfixed horror on Blake's face. In a world where her own panting shakily filled the space, she realized far too late what her outburst had done.

"Oh my God…" she gasped. "Blake, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

The moment those shallow words left her lips, they had already lost all meaning. No matter how sincere they had been, they were unable to erase the ones that had come before. In the end, it was nothing more than trying to stop a roaring geyser with a piece of cloth; the damage had already been done, and whatever actions she had left now served little purpose besides damage control. But nothing she could say now would make a difference anymore.

"It's okay," Blake deadpanned. "Jaune got a message from our contacts that we're attacking Beacon tomorrow morning. He wants us to make up our mind about whether we're going or not."

Her message delivered, Blake turned around and walked out without another words. Powerless to do anything besides let her walk away, Yang fell to her knees, two burning hot trails of tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Yang…"

A faint, weak whisper reached her ears, instantly jolting Yang upright. Rushing to her sister's side, Yang, hastily wiped away her tears.

"I'm here, Ruby," she said. "Are you feeling alright? Do you need-"

"I'm fine, Yang," Ruby assured her. "Don't worry about me. Go after Blake."

Still in shock, Yang did not immediately process Ruby's words. Even when she finally did, however, she still could not move.

"I'll be fine," Ruby told her, sitting up and giving her sister a faint but reassuring smile. "She's important to you, right? Go."

A few more seconds passed in silence, and Ruby waited Yang out. After what felt like hours of drawn out silence, the blonde finally managed a shaky nod.

"I'm sorry," Yang said in almost a hushed whisper, letting go of Ruby's hand and sprinting out of the room.

Ruby watched her sister go, keeping that smile on her face even after she left. When she was finally unable to hold it anymore, the red-cloaked Huntress let it slide off her face as her eyes glistened with fresh tears, threatening to burst forth at any moment.

However, the effort it took to tell Yang what she did had cost her everything. Unable to muster any control whatsoever, Ruby cried painfully into her hands, covering her face in an attempt to muffle the sound.

In the empty, lifeless space that was a mere shadow of its former lively self, the loneliest of them all let her tears pour like falling rain.


	19. 19 - Attack on Beacon

"I could've taken him."

At first glance, she was a simple woman. At least, that was what she had thought of Yang Xiao Long in the beginning. She was loud, carefree and ever pining for attention – the kind of person Blake absolutely could not stand. Needless to say, Blake had been anything but pleased with being her partner, but she persevered. With luck, she would be free of this blonde after the initiation, and would end up with a more decent partner. Not that it mattered anyway, since she was perfectly fine on her own.

When she found out that she was stuck with her, Blake cursed her own misfortune. She did not even need a partner to begin with, much less one that was a personified ball of energy. She told herself her resentment was because Xiao Long was weak, because Xiao Long was loud, because Xiao Long was a goof who did not know how harsh life could be. However, the more she tried to believe that, the more obvious it became as to why she really did not like her.

Somewhere deep down, she had realized Yang was the opposite of her. Somewhere deep down, she might even have admired her. That was why, despite her usual passive demeanor, she wanted to be more like the woman called Yang Xiao Long.

* * *

"Blake!"

Disobeying her brain's commands, the Faunus's feet stopped moving, rooting her to the spot. It probably did not matter since Yang would have caught up to her anyway, but Blake hated how she still wanted to hear her words, even after all that happened.

"What's wrong?" she asked, keeping her tone flat as she refused to face her partner. "Shouldn't you be taking care of Ruby?"

"Blake," Yang said, her voice wrecked with stress and fatigue. Blake doubted that she was crying, but after the last few months, nothing surprised her anymore. "We need to talk."

"There's not much to talk about, Yang," Blake deadpanned. "Just tell Jaune-"

"I'm not going to apologize."

Blake actually forgot about her indignation for a split second just to turn and stare at Yang. The blonde's face was, surprisingly, not sporting a huge, toothy grin; rather, she looked totally serious.

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously.

"I said I'm not going to apologize," Yang repeated. "I can't take back the words, so I won't say I'm sorry. It won't change the fact that I've hurt you with them."

"So what're you here for?" Blake asked.

"I want us to move on," Yang replied. "Regretting won't do us any good, so I want us to be able to get over this without forgetting about it."

Blake was unsure of what to say anymore. Sure, she had not expected Yang to be the kind of person to apologize outright, but this was just plain ridiculous.

"So what do you want?" Blake asked coldly. As though trying to match her attitude, several icy drops fell and splattered against her skin, warning her of incoming rain. Normally, she would be seeking shelter right away, but Yang was in the way. "We just kiss and make up or something?"

"I rather 'out' than 'up', but no," Yang replied with a hint of her usual bubbliness. "I want you to know you have my word that I will never say something like that to you again. I can stake my life on it."

Well, at least one thing had not changed: Yang was still as unpredictable as ever. Try as she might, Blake could never tell what she was thinking. Even though she was a straightforward kind of person, Yang was just… different, somehow.

"Though if you want an apology, I'm sure I can compromise," the blonde said with a wink. Having been her partner for so long, Blake could tell that she was genuinely sorry, and that her current smile was nothing but a façade, but she said nothing. She was well aware that right now, she had to say something, but the words just simply got caught in her throat.

"I wasn't really expecting an apology, Yang," Blake replied with a sigh. Words were cheap, and Yang of all people knew that very well. "I know you didn't mean it. It's just that… your words reminded me of that night, and I just lost it for a bit…"

Walking over to the nearest tree with slow, heavy steps, Blake leaned against it with an exhausted sigh, sliding down and sitting on the mossy ground.

"Not gonna climb it?" Yang asked cheekily.

"You hush," Blake warned. "I haven't forgiven you yet."

She said that, but her expression had already softened. Yang, being the infuriatingly observant partner that she was, smirked and sat down next to her, not saying a word as she held the Faunus's hand in her own.

"Have you calmed down a little yet?" Blake asked, looking up at the sky.

"Have _I_ calmed down?" Yang asked incredulously. "That's totally my line! Guess a cat got my tongue ther-"

"_Yang_," Blake made sure to emphasize the name nice and clear, so that even the oblivious-acting blonde could get the hint. Even that did not work, nearly crushing her hand with an iron grip would probably get the point across.

"Alright alright! I get it!" Yang exclaimed, wincing as she struggled to free her poor hand from Blake's absurdly powerful claws (pun intended). "Sheesh, no need to get a hairball over- Ow! Okay already!"

A peaceful silence descended after that, leaving them some time to their thoughts. In that dreadful, deafening void of resounding echoes, however, all Blake could hear were the screams.

Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Human. Faunus. A cacophony of countless voices, screeching – hollering – inside her head, their sharp cries splitting her skull. It hurt, but above all, it was so vivid.

Right before her very eyes was a field of corpses, flooding the landscape with their pulsating red fluids. A rancid odor filled the air, dancing along the icy cold blades of wind. Her body shook, but never collapsed; her eyes feared the sight before them, but never once did they tear away from the horrors to which they had been forced to bear witness.

The hollow, invisible gales howled, piercing her skin like a knife she could never stop. It caressed her ear, bringing with it the irksome laughter of Death, only to fade into nothingness before she had even registered the sound.

"Blake!"

The landscape disappeared. In its place, grey skies without end loomed overhead, tainting the world beneath with its depressing hue. Rather than being still and heavy, the air had changed, encasing her in a space of invisible ice, freezing every molecule in her body.

"Blake!"

A faint tingle of warmth pressed against her hand. A voice, distant yet powerful to her ears, called out her name, leaving a ghostly echo in its wake. Did she recognize the owner of that voice?

"Y-Yang," she gasped, noticing her partner's presence at last. "I… I…"

"It's alright," Yang assured her, squeezing Blake's body tightly. "You don't have to say anything."

She wondered how her face must have looked like. For Yang's voice to change that drastically… what kind of expression must she have been wearing on her face? What on Remnant did the blonde see, reflected in those hazel irises?

What sort of monster was she looking at?

"Don't think about anything," Yang pleaded. "Don't feel. Don't talk. Just let it all out. Trust me."

She heard those words, but everything after that was nothing but a blur. All sound disappeared in an instant, drowned out by the sudden downpour as it pounded her skin like a myriad of needles. It was cold, it was absolutely freezing, but there was still an enigmatic presence around her, enveloping her in a nostalgic sense of warmth.

Nothing could be heard beyond the acrid applause of thundering rain, and she could no longer feel her numb limbs. She remembered her words, and she remembered wanting to obey that simple command, but she could not remember if she really cried. Against the roaring cloudburst hollering all around them, Blake couldn't even hear the sounds of her own wails anymore.

All that existed in the cold, unforgiving space, was Yang's warmth.

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"For the fifty-sixth time, yes," Blake replied exasperatedly. Despite being a guy, Jaune sure worried like a little girl.

"Besides," Yang added, pushing a lock of hair out of her face. "We're already en route; it's not as if we can just pull back now."

"Yeah, but-" Jaune began, but a brief shake of Pyrrha's head deterred him from saying anything else. "Alright, I get it. Let's get this over with."

"Yang," Blake said, standing next to her partner as they prepared to descend the helicarrier. "When this is over, I have something I need to say to you."

"What; a proposal?" Yang asked, her usual cheeky grin tugging at her lips. "Aww, you don't have to; you already know I'll say yes."

Blake rolled her eyes. That woman was ever a mystery.

"Aaanyway," Yang said, jumping out of the helicarrier. "Kick ass first, talk later, hun!"

Shaking her head, Blake followed after her, leaving Jaune and Pyrrha to stare at each other awkwardly. This was part of the plan, but it was still uncomfortable for the red-haired Amazon.

"Let's run through the plan again," Pyrrha suggested. "You'll break in through that window – there, that one – and I'll make my way up from that stairwell. Don't bite off more than you can chew, alright?"

"I think we're already _way _past that point, Pyrrha," Jaune replied, staring out at the warzone below. Beacon – the place he had spent time training, making friends and living up to the legacy left to him – was filled with clashing weapons, flames and blood. It was a sight he had witnessed only once before, and it was something he had wholeheartedly wished he'd never see again. "Say, think we'll run into people we know?"

"I hope not," Pyrrha sighed. She didn't continue the sentence, but she was sure Jaune understood anyway. "I'll be going. Good luck."

Left alone, Jaune pulled out his weapon. He wished Ruby was here, fighting with them, instead of staying behind at the Lighthouse. He had hoping for as much help as possible, so that their chances of surviving could at least increase a bit. If Ruby had been here, it would have been that much more reassuring.

But she did not come along. She would probably never stand by him again, fighting with him against the evils they had to defeat. While he hated to think like that, he had to face reality – Ruby Rose would never fight again.

_Is there even a point anymore?_

Harboring that single, unanswered question, Jaune Arc leapt off the plane.

* * *

Getting to his feet, Jaune quickly scanned the area for enemies. His landing had been decent, which would have given him enough time to react to hostile fire, but there was none. In fact, the headmaster's office was completely empty, save for the presence of one other man.

"I'm afraid I must go," Ozpin said into his Scroll. "I wish you best of luck."

Hanging up, the former headmaster of Beacon turned to look at his former student. It was difficult to discern his gaze behind the shades, but for an instant, Jaune was sure their eyes had met.

"You certainly look different," the older man commented, no doubt referring to Jaune's scar.

"You've defected?" the blonde asked. There was no surprise in his voice, just a low, furious growl.

"I have," Ozpin replied easily. "So let's not waste time talking, shall we?"

* * *

**This chapter was difficult, largely because Yang gave me a hard time…**

**Sorry for the loooong period of absence; fell sick and couldn't type anything for a while. I'll try to get the stories up and running again real soon, so bear with me! **

**Till next chapter! And yes, it's Ozpin versus Jaune. Yep, you saw right.**

**Edit: Best wishes to Monty Oum, and here's wishing him a speedy recovery. If you can, do help out with the fund raising (I can't put links in the doc, so please go check it out at the Rooster Teeth website).**


	20. 20 - Jaune Arc vs Ozpin Pt 1

**Hello and sorry about the delay! I ran into a little problem and was hospitalized, so I was inactive for a while. But worry not, for I am back! Also, if every chapter seems to be taking too long to come up, it's probably because I'm now juggling three stories at once. I shall now enforce some brainwashing and tell you to go read those stories too. Yeah, do it.**

**Anyway, here's a reply to the guest who mentioned about the credibility about the small details. Yes indeed, the intervention of outer forces does seem more logical, but I decided against that. I will eventually go into more detail about it as I move the story along, and it's one of the things I felt needed to be fleshed out more, which led to me bring back Weiss. Don't worry; I'll try to address every minute detail meticulously, and I hope I don't disappoint! Thank you for your review, and I'm glad you pointed out the things you did!**

**About Blake's bounty, yes it's not logical either, but that was the whole point: to reflect that the reasons for Adam wanting to capture Blake were not of logic, but of obsession. It was meant to reflect his feelings more than anything. Sorry if that didn't come across clearly enough. Again, thank you for pointing that out!**

**And now, on with the chapter!**

* * *

"Why the look of distress?"

Looking up from his depressed sitting position on the rooftop, Jaune almost fell off the edge in shock. Ozpin, who had just appeared out of nowhere, measured out a fraction of a smile as he proceeded to sit next to him.

"Trouble with love?" the older man asked, taking a sip of coffee (or whatever it was) from his mug.

"I wish," Jaune sighed, looking down dejectedly. He had not even the chance to begin his love life, much less have trouble with it.

"Well then, shall I offer some advice?" Ozpin asked with a rather mischievous, benign smile. "While I do not proclaim to be a master of romance, my experiences may… illuminate some useful tips."

"Heh, thanks," Jaune said dejectedly. "But I'd rather go for some tips to improve my skills."

"Your skills," Ozpin clarified. "Not your scores?"

"Nah," Jaune replied. "I know I'm not an honors student, and I never will be. I just want to be stronger, that's all."

"Then why do you wish to improve?" Ozpin asked, taking a sip of his mysterious beverage. "Your strength is merely your own, so if it's not for yourself, what's the point?"

"Well, I guess that's true," Jaune said thoughtfully, completely unaware of Ozpin's gaze as he spoke. "Yeah, it makes sense, but I don't care about that. I just want to be strong enough to protect my team, and you know… be worthy enough to lead them. I- wait a minute; why would you-?"

"Good answer, Mr. Arc," Ozpin chuckled. Jaune may be slow on the uptake, but he was honest. And what was more, he had the right mindset – the mindset of a true Huntsman. Looks like his bet paid off after all. "Top marks."

"Er... Um… What?" Jaune stammered.

"You understand the correct reasons for seeking strength," Ozpin elaborated. "You're improving yourself for the sake of not only yourself, but of your comrades as well. Strength is not something meant for beating up others or killing monsters to look like a hero; it is something that will help you protect what you hold dear. Never forget that.

"As long as you remember that and stay true to your beliefs, you will be fine," he added, standing up and paying no heed to the look of utter confusion on Jaune's face. "Don't give up, Jaune. Someday, you'll become someone capable of great accomplishments."

* * *

Jaune tightened his grip on the sword, eyeing his adversary with a steady gaze.

"Why?"

Despite his confused tone and vague question, Jaune's expression was grim. There was a fire burning in his eyes – a fire no one had believed him to be capable of igniting before.

"Come now, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said mildly. "Would it really make a difference at this point?"

"Probably not," Jaune agreed, settling himself into a defensive stance, shield at the ready. "But I thought I'd hear your excuses first."

"You thought wrong," Ozpin replied.

Jaune opened his mouth, only to shut it instantly as Ozpin charged at him, slamming his cane at his shield with incredible force.

Withstanding the blow, Jaune swung his shield to the side, throwing off Ozpin's balance as he swung his sword in the same motion, hoping to catch him in the midsection.

However, Ozpin was no fool, and managed to deflect the blow with his cane, cartwheeling to the side and moving along with the force. Having managed to avoid the attack, he retaliated, bringing up the cane and thrusting it forward in a stabbing motion.

That would be the end of it. The impact would explode across his forehead, cracking his skull and possibly breaking his neck in the process. It would be a swift conclusion, and the natural blonde would have to suffer little-

All those thoughts instantly dissipated as the tip of his cane struck thin air, catching nothing but some stray strands of hair. Despite his wealth of experience and state of alertness, Ozpin paused, unable to believe the reality he was seeing. Did Jaune – _that _Jaune Arc, of all people – really just dodge his attack?

Taking advantage of the opening, Jaune lunged forward, his sword snaking towards Ozpin's shoulder. Sidestepping the blow partially, Ozpin somersaulted away from him, putting some distance between them in the process.

"I'm impressed," he said loftily, as a small chunk of fabric fell from his shoulders. "I certainly was not expecting that."

"You're easy," Jaune taunted. "Compared to Ruby, you're just like a sloth."

"A sloth," Ozpin chucked. If the blonde wanted to play it this way, he'd play along. "Reminds me of a rather energetic student of mine. Nora Valkyrie, as I recall. Did you know her?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Ozpin went completely silent. Whether he was merely observing Jaune's reply or rendered speechless by his own words was unclear, but Jaune was no longer paying attention; rather, he was seething with rage.

"Don't you dare say her name," he spat.

Ozpin did not reply. He had expected another jab of sorts, but Ozpin did not say anything. It did not matter much, but Jaune was no longer thinking at all; he was merely charging towards his former headmaster with his weapon at the ready.

Ozpin readied himself to parry Jaune's blow, but the blonde betrayed his expectations by throwing his sword like a javelin instead. Stepping to the side and narrowly avoiding the weapon, Ozpin closed the distance between them – and was sliced by something invisible.

A small jet of crimson burst from his cheek, leaving a burning sting in its wake. Unable to comprehend the nature of that attack, Ozpin hesitated, allowing Jaune to slam into him with his shield.

Slamming Ozpin onto the ground, Jaune pulled with his free hand and summoned his sword back to him. With a soft zipping sound, the wire around Crocea Mors' handle retracted into the mechanism on Jaune's wrist, bringing the sword into his hand. But before he could stab Ozpin with it, the older man brought up his legs and kicked Jaune off of him.

"Throwing your weapon's new," he commented. "Did you learn that from Miss Nikos?"

Jaune did not reply, and instead continued his attack, rushing at Ozpin. Stopping short to block his stabs with his shield, he spun around with his sword. As Ozpin parried the blow, Jaune let go of his weapon, letting the sword fly out of his hand. Then, with a pull of his hand, he brought the sword back from the air, deterring Ozpin from following up with another blow.

At the same time, he pressed a button on his shield, turning it back into its sheath form. Grabbing it like a dagger held in reverse, Jaune proceeded to counterattack, wielding his sheath like a second blade. Immediately after an attack from his sword, he followed up with the sheath, leaving no room for Ozpin to retaliate.

Forcing Ozpin back a few steps, Jaune thrust the opening of his sheath at his face, pouring out a small belt of Dust crystals. Shielding his face with the flat end of his sword, Jaune pressed a button on his shield again, turning it back into its shield form. As it did, the friction from the moving parts ignited the Dust, exploding between them and blowing up right in Ozpin's face.

Waiting for the dust cloud to settle, Jaune readied his shield. He knew that this was far from enough to take him out, but he was not reckless enough to charge in blindly. He might have been in the past, but not now.

"So you've learned something from Miss Nikos, Miss Belladonna, and Miss Schnee," Ozpin's voice spoke calmly through the dust cloud. "You studied their fighting styles and took a little something from every one in order to supplement your own. Interesting."

A bright line of silver flashed, and in and instant the dust cloud was cut in half and dispersed. Walking out of the small crater calmly and throwing away his broken sunglasses, Ozpin brandished his cane – except that it was now an unsheathed rapier with a silver glow.

"And with Miss Rose you learned how to combat high speed opponents," he went on. "I'd wager you learned something from Mister Lie, Miss Valkyrie and Miss Xiao Long too, no?"

"Who knows?" Jaune shrugged. "I'm just a failing student with faked transcripts."

"Really, now," Ozpin smiled. The boy had come a long way, and that was comforting despite the current situation. "Show me what other surprises you have, Mister Arc.

"And come kill me if you can."

* * *

**Sorry if I'm not replying your reviews and/or private messages; I'm having trouble with my e-mail right now so I don't know when someone says something to me. I'll try to get it fixed (Somehow), so please bear with me!**


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